A Bit of All Right

It was a hard movie to find when it ran in theaters several months back, but I had mentally filed away The Kids Are All Right as one to check out later on DVD, even before Oscar buzz started to circle about it.

The film is a simple "nuclear family" story with a modern twist. The parents raising their two teenage children are lesbians who each gave birth to one of the children using the same anonymous sperm donor. The 15 year old son is curious about his biological father, and convinces his 18 year old sister (soon off to college, but now old enough to make inquiries about the donor's identity) to seek some answers for him. The donor enters into their lives, and complications and hilarity ensue.

The script is good in the way it treats a situation some would find controversial with barely a nod to that fact. It's purely a relationship tale, and neither elevates nor degrades the Moms. I might even go so far as to say the script is a touch too conventional at times, as it spends what feels like some unnecessary time on friends of the two teenage children that ultimately doesn't seem to feed the drama.

In any case, the acting is wonderful. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play the parents, and each perfectly embodies their character -- the former a control freak trying to find a way through the chaos, the latter a bit of a drifter excited at the possibilities opening with these new developments. Mark Ruffalo plays the donor in a perfectly pitched performance that allows every character to believably react to him as they should -- some characters find him grating, others charming.

And while it's those three that are most talked about when critics speak of the film, the two younger actors playing the children also deserve mention. Mia Wasikowska (of Alice in Wonderland) and Josh Hutcherson are also crucial in making the entire thing fun to watch.

I rate the movie a B, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a comedy that's not afraid to include serious moments too.