- Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
- In limited release in theaters July 2010-August 2010
- 104 Minutes
Lesbians on the Big Screen
Starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a long-married, middle-aged lesbian couple, this film, now in theaters, is what real lesbian filmmaking should be. The story (written by Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg) is fresh, funny and poignant and realistic, the actors top-notch, the directing solid and the cinematography finely tuned. And, Bening and Moore actually have the chemistry to make a believable couple!
Cholodenko, whose other films with lesbian sub-themes include, "High Art" and "Laurel Canyon" is a very skilled director who knows just when to move the action. This was in fact a somewhat slow-moving film, in American terms at least. And it works. The story was riveting, the characters likeable, even with their foibles, and the family that Nic (Bening) and Jules (Moore) built was very real. You don’t often see a mix of lesbian drama, family values, teen angst and oh so much more, that actually works onscreen.
Dyke Family Values
Mark Ruffalo as the sperm donor in The Kids are All Right
© Suzanne TennerEnter Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the delightful cad of a sperm donor whom the kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) have managed to track down and meet in secret. Paul is just a middle-aged guy in LA trying to figure it all out. He’s a college dropout with a successful restaurant, a hot casual girlfriend and a motorcycle whose life is totally changed by one phone call from the cryo center.
I won't be a spoiler and spill the entire plot, but suffice it to say that this comedy has its darker moments (as all good comedies do). What those dark moments do is highlight (both to the characters and the audience) what really matters and what doesn't. These are the kind of takeaways any good film should provide.
Funny, Sexy, Smart
This film is fun and sexy, but also smart and very real. I want to repeat that it makes all the difference that the chemistry between Bening and Moore is quite believable. And though there isn’t much lesbian sex -- middle-aged, married malaise seems to have eaten away at Nic and Jules sexual life – they are solid partners and good parents trying to do the right thing by their children.
Great date movie (and wow!)
Julianne Moore in The Kids are All Right
© Suzanne TennerMy Rating: 5 stars. Get thee to “The Kids Are Alright” while it’s still in theaters.
