Plot
Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) have been together a long time. Despite their own issues, and the issues of their two teenage kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), they are managing. But when Laser decides to find their sperm donor dad Paul (Mark Ruffalo) with the help of Joni, things get way out of hand: The kids really like their fun, laid-back dad – and he is a true contrast to their over-controlling mom Nic. To make things worse, Jules likes Paul too. And when Paul hires Jules to design his garden, things get even more complicated as something starts between them. How much of a change can a modern, 21st century family can take?
**
Review – with Spoilers
The bad:
– The actions of characters & the depicting of characters:
The Kids Are All Right is an all right film, although it is a bit overrated. It has its moments and the acting is fine.
It’s the story and how the characters are shown that I have a problem with. We have a lesbian couple who get turned on by watching gay men porn. They tell us, and Laser, that human sexuality is complicated and we try to roll with that. But never at any point Jules thinks she is bisexual. Yet she jumps Paul’s bones almost the first moment they are alone together. Then she has sex with him again. But we are supposed to buy that she is %100 gay. Fine. And while Julianne Moore can be quite pretty when she wants to be, she doesn’t quite have a moment of attractiveness, or even really femininity at this film. I’ll never know how the ever hot-blooded Paul, who all the straight women around him are either trying to bed or are already bedding, found in Jules. OK. So let’s suppose he is all hormones and no ethics- that he will jump any woman when given the chance. But we have him falling for Jules. What the…?
And yes, of course Nic eventually finds out. And she goes ballistic. But interestingly, she is more mad at Paul. The kids are more mad at Paul. They treat him like a total disappointment. And while he is not the ideal father figure, he is kind, and warm-hearted and he did welcome the kids into his life, no questions asked. It’s Jules who was married, who cheated on their mom and yet it is Paul who ends up alone.
I never quite get it when people become more angry at the other man/woman rather than their own spouse. Yes, the other person showed total ill judgment sleeping with a married person, but he/she is not the one who married you. He/she is not the one who cheated on you. I always think that if you are not going to be equally angry, you are supposed to be angrier at the person who actually had responsibilities about you. Jules got another chance. Despite how naïve and weird he is, Paul deserved one too.
– Sex is reduced to just animal sex. Did we really need to see that much of Mark Ruffalo humping around?
The good:
– The acting is really good. Not just by Bening, Moore and Ruffalo, but the kids did a great job too. I’ll enjoy watching them in other movies.
– It is funny how Jules and Nic were thinking that their son might be gay and they were actually disappointed that he wasn’t, but he had found his dad.
– Paul’s overall reactions to the event. “I love lesbians” reaction when he found out both Nic and Jules gave birth to one child of his and that they were together.
Worth Watching?
– If you are a fan of the actors, and can’t resist the Oscar buzz ( the movie was nominated for 4 Oscars – Best Actress for Annette Bening, Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo, Best Film and Best Screenplay, though it received none of the awards), it won’t bore you. It might annoy and disappoint you a bit, but I don’t think you will regret the time you put into it. But while it has some potential, there is a big chance it won’t be listed in your best movie experiences.
Directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko. Made in 2010. Currently 7.3 on IMDB.com
Fun notes:
This isn’t the only movie Moore does something against her character’s suggested sexuality. In Chloe, she is supposedly straight , married to Liam Neeson. She suspects her husband is cheating on her. But in the end, she ends up cheating on him- with a woman.
Also on Julianne Moore
Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson and Julianne Moore
Shelter starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones
Laws of Attraction and Pierce Brosnan feat. Julianne Moore
Chloe starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried
Also on Mark Ruffalo
Ok…the film was pretty good…but, I will tell the one thing that I did not like about it: they should not leave the father out of the family! He made a mistake, I agree with that… she made a mistake and they all forgave her! Why they did not gave him a second chance? It wasn’t fair! Annette Bening was a selfish cow!
I know, right! That’s exactly what turned me off – I can get past their weird fetishes, and even the unnecessarily explicit sex scenes, but shunning Paul? Hell, they wouldn’t have had the family without him in the first place. And it is not like he was a guy who knew he had children and then walked out on them. He didn’t know he had children, and the moment he found out, he was more than welcoming about it. I can’t decide whose character I disliked more- Annette’s or Julianne’s!
But what is good about the movie is it shows how difficult marriage can be, even between women- who are supposedly better at communicating than men. And how two mothers can screw up just as much as a mother and a father, or a single parent.
But while Paul had a lot of growing up to do, basically he deserved another chance. And as far as I’m concerned, it was his family too. The fantasy of hooking up with Julianne was idiotic, but hey no one is perfect:)