The Kids Are All Right Review
By Lexi Feinberg
Paul In The Family
Years ago, in his wild and carefree youth, Paul (Mark Ruffalo) visited a sperm bank and made a deposit. Why? "It seemed like a lot more fun than donating blood." He is the mischievous donor dad in Lisa Cholodenko's interesting indie "The Kids Are All Right," which, yes, borrows its title from The Who song. Like the classic rock tune, it's well written, zips along and is entirely worthy of your time and attention.
Set in Southern California, the comedy approaches family dynamics in an offbeat, funny way that will ring familiar, even with a lesbian couple at the center of it. (Quick -- name five movies where that is the case. Exactly.) Jules and Nic, played by Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, respectively, are married and have two children courtesy of Paul's donation: 18-year-old Joni ("In Treatment's" Mia Wasikowska) and 15-year-old Laser ("
Bridge To Terabithia's" Josh Hutcherson). Having the same "who am I?" crisis we all face as teenagers, Laser presses to meet his father, and Joni comes along for the ride.
The kids quickly learn that "Right on" is one of his favorite terms, along with "Bro" -- it is California, after all. Paul is a successful restaurateur/organic farmer with bedroom eyes, a motorcycle and an easygoing nature. Women love him and he knows it. Even Joni is rather taken with him, in the PG way. So imagine what trouble brews when he starts working with one of their moms and getting invited to family dinners.
Ruffalo is great here, giving his most-compelling performance since "
You Can Count On Me." What's interesting about Paul is that he's trouble without meaning to be; you get the feeling he really wants a family and intimate relationships but has no idea how to go about attaining either. On the flip side, Jules and Nic are capable of running a warm, communicative household -- barring some hiccups and differences in temperament. Moore and Bening are totally believable as a couple, down to the subtle affectionate glances and sporadic nags ("Go easy on the wine, hon, it's day time." Pause. "Same goes for the micromanaging.") There is a lot of love in their home even with the teen angst and dabs of dysfunction.
"The Kids Are All Right," written by Cholodenko ("High Art") and Stuart Blumberg ("
The Girl Next Door"), is a memorable little film with a sharp script and down-to-earth acting. It's no easy feat for a family comedy to be both original and entertaining. How refreshing, too, to see lesbian marriage treated as a normal, unremarkable event rather than something worthy of voting bans. Imagine that.
