The Kids Are All Right

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.

Today's review is The Kids Are All Right. Directed by Lisa Cholodenko. Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg.

100th review countdown......#79

MPAA Rating : R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use.

Runtime : 106 min

Cast

Annette Bening - Nic

Julianne Moore - Jules

Mark Ruffalo - Paul

Mia Wasikowska - Joni

Josh Hutcherson - Laser


Due to the very small and quiet promotion of this film, I had to crawl under a rock to find a theater that was still playing it. Luckily I came across a spot I used to frequent in my college days that wasn't playing the sure to be award winning Vampires Suck and decided to keep this one on the marquee for a bit.

Nic and Jules are two lesbians that have their lives thrown for a loop when their children have unbeknownst to them sought out the identity of their sperm donor or biological father to be more politically correct. Once Paul enters the picture the everyone tries to cope with someone new in their lives that they never expected to meet. The events that happen as a result change everyone's lives forever.

This movie had a lot of things going for it starting with the cast. Leading things off are Moore and Benning as the happily married couple. They are as yin and yang as you can get. Nic is an overbearing, detailed, stuck up, control freak and Jules is a laid back roll with the punches modern hippie. The kids act like typical teenagers that have annoying parents. They want to be left alone to their lives. This plays nicely between the 4 of them.

The next thing going for this movie is the story and the progressive approach that it takes. It's very easy to have these kids resent their parents because they aren't "traditional" but that would be too cliche. The kids both love and respect their lesbian parents for who they are which are tow women who gave birth to them and love them unconditionally. This is what I enjoyed most about the film overall. The fact that they took a very "been there and done that" concept of a family introducing an outsider to their click and having said outsider turn their lives around in the blink of an eye and find a way to give it a fresh feel was a pleasant surprise. The tone of the film has a warmth to it that makes you really care for all of these characters including Nic who does everything in her power to resent her bitchy, stuck up, uppity up attitude.

This wave of positive sentiment does however come with some fine print. Although I enjoyed this film immensely I was not pleased with the marketing of the film. To my knowledge it's been making the rounds as a dramedy (drama/comedy) this is false advertising. This movie is a drama straight up and down. It's just a light drama with a few laughs thrown in. Anyone expecting to see this film make you laugh you will not be happy. I hope you can see past the bait and switch and take the film for what it is which is a very fun, light, yet thought provoking drama filled with heart and the concept of family and what that word truly means.

On the 5 star scale. The Kids Are All Right gets 3 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation.

Sadly this movie came and went so you may have to Netflix it in order to catch it. If however you happen to chance upon a place that's playing it and have nothing else to do I suggest you drop some green on it.

That's all for today. Up next is Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

Until Next Episode......"I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"