The Kids Are All Right

The film is best told in two parts, easily labeled as the good first half and the bad latter. I started off seeing the film as very constructive, credible and a good outfit. My postive scrawlings however quickly became disappointed scribbles on the notepad during the middle act. A metaphorical hump on the narrative road was hit, causing the film to quickly skid off in the wrong direction. If anything, how impressed I was in the beginning actually made me hate the film more, as the potential it had was clear to see. The lure of cheap plot arcs must have been too strong in the end, and this very clever drama with whit and charm became wednesday matineé viewing with a story you're more likely to see on Eastenders. 

Now that I've had a few deep breaths, let us continue. In brief, The Kids Are All Right describes the lives of 5 individuals. Jules and Nic (Julianne Moore and Annette Bening) are a lesbian couple who, through artificial insemination, had two children; Joni and Laser. Now that Joni is 18, Laser convinces her to message their sperm donor father Paul (Mark Ruffalo), who slowly begins to become more involved in their lives. 

At times the humour is strong and plays off our alienation within the subject. Early on, Jules & Nic are seen fornicating while watching a gay male porno. Here we laugh simply at the notion, yet swap this for a straight couple and we need some askew dialogue or action to attempt to be funny. Without being offensive, it makes you laugh at the unusual nature of it all, yet at the same time providing the 'they're just like us!' comment to appear, but in such a friendly and sincere kind of way. It's also very nice of the director to answer the teenage quandary 'do lesbians watch lesbian porn?' Well, apparently not folks. 

The film also does well to show the lack of difference between gay and straight couples, on obvious intention  and done well. The couple are shown squabbling, dealing with unruly children and post-marital blues. The way this is shown can be heavy-handed at times, but was achieved early on with some fluidity and a soft that doesn't feel condescending, and instead feels relaxing for the audience. 

With my background of work, I also liked the play on the nature/nurture debate. There's some moments in which the children are shown to share characteristics of Paul, and then others that they share with their adopted parents. Though they sit on the fence with it, I like the fact they they acknowledge the thought, just as they do with the feelings of Nic & John when Paul becomes more involved in their kids lives, moments like this were captured perfectly, and in all seemed to make the film a clever drama. 

However, and it's a big however, the film almost seems to give up half way. It's almost like the film used all of its intelligence up and had to resort lowering themselves to daytime soap level, dropping meaning and thought and becoming engrossed in flings and affairs. The roles of the children in the story are dropped completely, and they're involvement and actions are left completely unanswered. I felt almost conned out at times, as I had assumed I had stumbled upon a very intelligent drama, that's story depicted something fairly new to the 21st century, but the director obviously had other plans, most notably self-sabotage. "I feel like Paul is taking over this family!" Nic shouts. Yeah, more than you know sister. 

Looking back, the film does have some strong points, but overall it is weak. It was a nice critique of gay couples, showing how they experience the same marital hiccups as straight couples, but it became disjointed in narrative and extremely forceful, yet started off so elegantly. It was a shame really, as all 5 actors appear at the top of their game, so accurate in each portrayal. Though not terrible overall, it was because I could see how I wanted it to go that I annoyed me. In the end, the only thing that annoys me more, is seeing how many 5 star ratings are on that poster above. Shape up people. 

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Released: 2010
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Nationality: American
IMDB Rating: 7.1
My Grade:

C-



If you like this you may also like: Juno