'The Kids Are All Right' Is All Right For Some Print E-mail
Written by Brian Patrick Thornton   
Friday, 23 July 2010 00:13

 

"The Kids Are All Right" / Courtesy Focus Features

 

Whether or not you like the new lesbian family dramedy The Kids Are All Right (opening today at the Cedar Lee) depends on just how critical a queer critic you are.

Casual viewers who are satisfied by any positive LGBT film appearance will probably gush over this story of a couple whose family is jumbled when their kids contact their anonymous sperm donor from 18 years ago. But those who are tired of stereotypes and who have a laser focus on disparities in hetero-versus-homo portrayals may have some sharp moments of disappointment.

With those moments in mind and impossible to leave out of this review, I offer this warning: CAUTION. Mild Sapphic spoilers ahead.

Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are your typical Hollywood L Word-era lesbian couple. Nic’s the high-powered doctor; Jules is the wishy-washy Earth Mother-type. When daughter Joni (Mia Wasikowska) turns 18, her younger brother, Laser (Josh Hutcherson), persuades her to contact their until-now-anonymous sperm donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo).

And that’s when the family dynamic starts to go to pot.

At-first-reticent Joni warms to Paul and drops her good-girl ways, while Laser’s eyes finally are opened regarding his troublemaking best friend, whom his mothers have warned him about numerous times. Jules dives into her burgeoning landscape business, causing all manner of problems (more on that in a bit). And Nic is completely unsettled as she feels her control of the family is slipping away.

The central plot twist that causes the giant conflict brought about by Jules and Paul is one that might infuriate you, despite it coming from lesbian writer-director Lisa Cholodenko. It’s many a straight man’s fantasy, right out of the Ellen DeGeneres biopic. And it honestly torqued me off — repeatedly, as the same mistake continued to be made.

I just kept thinking, of all the possible plot twists, this is the one they picked? It felt like a retread of a late-season Queer as Folk storyline.

And then there are the portrayals of sexuality. Numerous straight sex scenes abound, with ass, boob and thrusting shots a go-go. But for the one lesbian knocking-boots moment, both actresses are so covered up, it’s more tame than a daytime drama.

That seems blatantly hypocritical.

Reviewers all over are ecstatically praising The Kids Are All Right, and I wonder if it’s because the vast majority are straight. For them, a normal lesbian couple plus kids on film must be a novelty. My expectations were higher; this really is a pretty typical family drama — tight unit of four finds their lives disrupted by arrival of newcomer. We’ve seen it before.

The selling point: The acting really is first-rate. Bening is brittle without being caustic, Moore is her typical damaged and charming character, Ruffalo moves from sexy Peter Pan to yearning new father, and Hutcherson and Wasikowska do a fine job tackling the different emotions of teenagers.

There are plenty of laughs, and several moments between Moore and Bening are quite touching. The resolution almost made me forgive the conflict that seems so out-of-place.

So this is a movie you may come to love.

Me? I’m ambivalent, with still a touch of anger.

 

 


The Details

The Kids Are All Right

Opens Friday, July 23, 2010

Cedar Lee Theatre

For tickets and show times, visit www.clevelandcinemas.com.

 

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