Rating:  

Mandalay Vision, Saint Aire Productions, 10th Hole Productions, Antidote Films, Artist International Management, Gilbert Films and Focus Features.

Written By: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg.

Shot for $4 million and picked up by Focus Features at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” is a refreshing revelation.

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as Nic and Jules, a lesbian couple well into their 20th year of being together. They have two children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), achieved via a sperm donor, and as with most 20-year marriages or relationships of some length, life is habitual for all involved. Joni has just turned 18 and has one last summer at home before heading off to college. Laser, still 15, has been pushing Joni to contact the sperm bank where Nic and Jules received the donations allowing them to become parents. Laser is too young to speak to the facility and Joni, despite her misgivings, makes the contact.

After Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the donor, consents to a meeting, Joni and Laser meet up with him. A carefree wandering spirit, Paul is single and a successful restauranteur in Los Angeles, living with as minimal responsibility as possible. He is everything their moms are not and Joni is intrigued and Laser a bit muted in his excitement after meeting Paul.

Bening’s Nic is a doctor, who works long hours and tries to keep a firm grip, perhaps too firm at times, on her wife, household, and children. Julianne Moore’s Jules is a loving wife but also has reached a point in her life where panic has started to set in. In part, because her oldest daughter is leaving for college, but being a stay-at-mom and starting this business and that, the latest a gardening/landscaping endeavor, has left her unfulfilled and carrying deep held doubts and insecurities. Naturally, when Nic and Jules find out what Joni and Laser have done, panic and uncertainty rushes in and begrudgingly, they agree to meet Paul, who is amused and chuckled by the whole situation.

The screenplay by Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg is beautifully written and real. The family dynamic here is replicated throughout millions of households every day. Nic turns to a glass or several of wine to keep her leveled. Jules worries that after 20 years the flame may be burning out. Joni and Laser are smart and bright kids who are just trying to make it through their teenage years, making those right choices that any parent hopes they will make.

Despite being a huge fan of the Oscars, I always try and refrain from mentioning that a performance is guaranteed an Oscar nomination. Doing so seems so easy and disingenuous. So, let me frame my comments in this way. I have seen Annette Bening is many films – great in virtually all of them. However, her performance here as Nic takes her to the best performance I have seen her give. Bening disappears in the role and nails down every mannerism, every ounce of strength and later, 20 years of pain and uncertainty in whether she has done right by her family. Julianne Moore drives the story through her pain and self-doubt. Her decisions later in the film are impulsive, desperate, and nearly destroy the infrastructure of the life Nic and Jules have worked so hard to build. As always, Moore is fantastic.

Mark Ruffalo’s performance is Paul is equally impressive. Life has always been relatively easy for Paul and when faced with adversity, he has always been able to bounce along to the next thing. The introduction of Joni and Laser opens up doors and situations that Paul misjudges in many ways.

Mia Wasikowska, better known as Alice in Tim Burton’s recent 2010 “Alice In Wonderland” remake, handles Joni in a real and human way. Rich with memorable moments, one of the most moving comes in a sudden realization that Joni finally has to face life as an adult, or at least on her own, and Cholodenko captures everything that Joni is with one moving closeup. Josh Hutcherson’s Laser is the one character that needed more. Here’s the only male figure in the familial framework, dabbling with questionable friends, quiet, reserved, and the instigator in finding his donor father. I wish that Cholodenko and Blumberg’s script could have found a few additional pages to give us a revelatory moment with Laser as well. After viewing the film, I kept going back over and over the movie in my mind, couching many of my thoughts and questions from the standpoint of Laser’s character. He is written too reserved, too held in and I simply wanted more. A small disappointment there.

“The Kids Are All Right” does so much right that quibbling over its flaws seems pedestrian.

The best comedy is the real comedy, the uncomfortable and unpredictable moments that we can laugh it while moving through life. “The Kids Are All Right” is flat out hilarious at times and amusing at others. And when the dramatic elements of the story force their way in, the pain, the difficulties, and eventually, the hope that this family will pull through is something that everyone can identify with and relate to on a personal level, no matter your family’s makeup.

At the end of the day, “The Kids Are All Right” is a beautiful essay about life. Domestic life. Its challenges, its rewards, and the hope that having love, trust, and strength will see you through to the light at the end of each day. Making this film, in so many ways, the richest comedy of all.

Should I See It?

YES

Absolutely worth seeking out, “The Kids Are All Right” is a beautifully told, modern and realistic look at suburban life in the 21st century. So much of this movie will strike a chord with you, whether you are parent, child, gay, straight, etc. It reaps many rewards for its viewer.

Annette Bening gives her best performance of her career here. That aside, the other 4 main performances are so good that this may be the best acted film thus far in 2010.

Fans of Lisa Cholodenko’s previous efforts, “High Art” and “Laurel Canyon” will not worry that two big name Hollywood stars have changed anything regarding her approach.

The film is a bit refreshing in how frank and honest it is.

NO

The film takes a somewhat controversial turn that I fear may distract some viewers from the film’s strengths. I, for one, felt that once explained and discussed in the film, the story arc made complete sense and I felt it appropriate to give the benefit of the doubt to Cholodenko as writer and director. But, you know, it may make some viewers ask questions.

Okay. I detest having to say that the mere subject matter and family representation will keep some people away. But, ’tis true I suppose even in 2010.

It’s what I call the Reese’s argument. Some people will not like the drama mixed with their comedy and the comedy mixed with their drama.

The film earns its R-rating with frank dialogue and adult sexual content, albeit never exploitative and different than you might expect. Nonetheless, it may serve surprising to some viewers.