In the first decade of the 21st century we explored the phenomenon of the indie comedy with the rise of films such as Juno and Little Miss Sunshine. That trend continued into the 2010s with countless more indie comedies being highly acclaimed by critics such as the next film on our list; The Kids Are All Right.
The film stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian couple Nic and Jules who have two teenage children in the form of sensible Joni and slightly reckless Laser. The couple's children were both conceived by insemination with Nic being the mother to Joni and Jules having given birth to Laser. Laser is keen to find out more about the man whose sperm helped to make him so when his sister turns eighteen he pesters her to ring up the sperm bank and discover the identity of the man in question. The children later track down restaurant-owning Paul whose chilled out philosophy works its charm on Joni however Laser isn't initially convinced. When Nic and Jules discover what their children have been up to they demand Paul come over the the house with both feeling the same way that Laser did about him. However, when Paul hires Jules to do some gardening work for him the pair end up in bed together on more than one occasion. Gradually Paul's influence sweeps over the family with both Laser and Joni's attitudes changing as a result of getting to know the donor. Only Nic remains unconvinced and her feelings towards Paul lead to resentment throughout the family. As you would expect events lead up to a crescendo where Nic discovers Jules' affair whilst at Paul's house however the fallout was at least a little surprising. I have to say that the way Nic discovered the affair and brought it up wasn't the usual way you would see in a film and her quiet revelation was neatly written. The fact that the conclusion was quite sweet-natured is a testament to a film that felt very realistic despite its somewhat far-fetched premise.
A lot of the reason for this is down to Lisa Cholodenko's assured direction and brilliant script that she co-wrote with Stuart Blumberg. Seeing as Cholodenko starting outlining the script in 2004 I'm not surprised that she takes as much care with her characters as she does. What I liked about The Kids Are All Right is that a lot of the subtext comes from the characters' gestures rather than their dialogue. Not that the dialogue is at all bad and instead the script feels incredibly well-paced with each major incident being padded out with several scenes of gardening or drinking. Although most of the plot strands are tied up in just over ninety minutes my only slight niggle was that I don't think we got a resolution to Joni's feelings towards her friend Jai. The Kids Are All Right's other ace in the hole is the five central cast members all of whom do their best to try and make the film as good as possible. Indeed it was the attachment of big name stars that got The Kids Are All Right the green light in the first place with the first actor to join up being Julianne Moore. Moore is absolutely fantastic in the role of free-wheeling Jules, who is asked to re-examine her life following Paul's introduction. Whilst Moore provides a lot of emotional moments throughout the film, it was Annette Bening who garnered all the awards buzz during Oscar Season. After winning the Golden Globe for her fantastic portrayal of Nic it was thought that Bening would finally win an Oscar but this wasn't to be the case. Also nominated for his role in the film was Mark Ruffalo who gave a breezy turn as the laid back interloper Paul. Meanwhile, Josh Hutcherson and particularly Mia Wasikowska bolstered the movie with their bold portrayals of Laser and Joni. With everybody playing their part neatly, The Kids Are All Right ended up being a fantastic character study of modern family dynamics and how things can go horribly wrong with the introduction of a newcomer in the family home. Despite a few story inconsistencies, I find little to fault in a film which I found to be quirky, heartfelt and enjoyable in equal measure.
Next time we review two Best Picture nominees who offer tips on how to survive certain perilous situations.
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