The Kids Are All Right (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo) – The only previous movie I had seen from writer/director Lisa Cholodenko was the indie flick Laurel Canyon, the story of a liberal, independent, middle-aged woman (Frances McDormand) and record producer whose conventional son (Christian Bale) comes home with his fiancée (Kate Beckinsale). Similarly, her High Art tells the story of a young intern (Radha Mitchell) who becomes involved with a lesbian photographer (Ally Sheedy). Here, Cholodenko takes the strong woman, lesbian theme and explores the two mom family. Starring multiple Academy Award nominees Annette Bening (3) and Julianne Moore (4), The Kids Are All Right implies the question of whether the moms are all right, too. Bening plays Nic, a doctor; Moore plays Jules, who never decided what she wanted to be and is now trying to start a landscaping business.
The two teenage kids, Joni (Mia Wasikowski) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), seek out their biological father, Paul, a sperm donor played by the underrated Mark Ruffalo. Paul is a motorcycling free spirit who owns an organic restaurant and who gets involved with both and each of the mothers and the kids, changing the dynamic of all of the relationships.
From the opening scenes, the movie feels like a very typical coming-of-age drama about a nuclear family with underlying issues, including a marriage with frayed edges and unspoken truths while the kids struggle with friendships, school and sexuality. The kids are naturally curious but typical teens. The mothers are going in different directions. As all of the relationships develop, evolve and/or morph, the movie hits its solid, but slow and intriguing, pace (just like Laurel Canyon). The relationships really are the story with the fine acting carrying the dialogue-heavy script. Expect this film to get much award consideration this year not only because of the great cast but also because of the groundbreaking plot line.