It is easy to reinvent the wheel. Throughout the past few decades the cinema has proved this fact with countless low-budget comedies by exploiting the structure of the classical American family. Yet, Lisa Cholodenko's 2010 film The Kids Are All Right offers something refreshingly new; but what? Is it the bohemian lifestyle of a middle- aged sperm donor? Or maybe it's the impulsive decisions of a lesbian landscaper. As one can imagine, this is no typical family.
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore costar as Nic and Jules Allgood, proud homosexual partners and co-mothers of Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) by way of artificial insemination. With maturity comes curiosity, and when the children seek their paternity they come face to face with sperm donor Paul Hatfield (Mark Ruffalo). Paul connects immediately with the children but his liberal ways threaten Nic's control and an affair with Jules tears the family to pieces. With Joni off to college at the end of the summer this unconventional group must relearn to trust and love one another in the face of their own familial defeat.
If there is one area of production that deserves special recognition here it is certainly the original screenplay by Lisa Cholodenko. A dynamic and comedic mix of highs and lows, Cholodenko exposes the raw nature and beauty of a family in crisis and leaves the audience with the perfect blend of closure and ambiguity. It is almost unthinkable that The Kids Are All Right did not take the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards. I say this not to take credit from The King's Speech, but how many Oscars can you carry at once, Tom Hooper?
Passionate star support says a lot about a story, and The Kids Are All Right may not have gotten off the ground if it had not been for the support of Bening, Moore and Ruffalo, all three of whom had been attached to this little project upon reading the script. Shot in Los Angeles in just twenty three days, The Kids Are All Right is an unconventional portrait of an unconventional family.
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore costar as Nic and Jules Allgood, proud homosexual partners and co-mothers of Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) by way of artificial insemination. With maturity comes curiosity, and when the children seek their paternity they come face to face with sperm donor Paul Hatfield (Mark Ruffalo). Paul connects immediately with the children but his liberal ways threaten Nic's control and an affair with Jules tears the family to pieces. With Joni off to college at the end of the summer this unconventional group must relearn to trust and love one another in the face of their own familial defeat.
If there is one area of production that deserves special recognition here it is certainly the original screenplay by Lisa Cholodenko. A dynamic and comedic mix of highs and lows, Cholodenko exposes the raw nature and beauty of a family in crisis and leaves the audience with the perfect blend of closure and ambiguity. It is almost unthinkable that The Kids Are All Right did not take the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards. I say this not to take credit from The King's Speech, but how many Oscars can you carry at once, Tom Hooper?
Passionate star support says a lot about a story, and The Kids Are All Right may not have gotten off the ground if it had not been for the support of Bening, Moore and Ruffalo, all three of whom had been attached to this little project upon reading the script. Shot in Los Angeles in just twenty three days, The Kids Are All Right is an unconventional portrait of an unconventional family.