The Kids Are All Right

I finally saw it! The Kids are All Right stands as one of the most widely seen WLW films ever made. It was nominated for several Oscars and received rave reviews. I probably should’ve seen it back in 2011 when it first came out. At the very least I should’ve watched it some time earlier in the six years between 2013 and today where I’ve been obsessively watching and reviewing any and all WLW films. Still, better late than never right?

The Kids Are All Right follows the modern family of lesbian couple Jules and Nic and their kids, Joni and Laser. Jules and Nic’s kids Joni and Laser were conceived using the same unknown sperm donor. Upon reaching her 18th birthday, Laser pushes Joni into discovering the identity of their donor and biological father. Despite reservations on Nic’s part, Joni and Laser meet their donor, Paul. Joni, Laser and Jules all form connections with Paul and they begin to integrate him into their family causing friction. Experiencing relationship difficulties with Nic, Jules begins to seek comfort with Paul, eventually leading to an affair between the two.

The screenplay is absolutely the star of the show here. Everything else like directing, acting, set design is good too but it’s all just complimentary to Lisa Choldenko’s script. The way this family interacts with each other has some real truth and relatability to it. That’s why the comedy moments in the movie work. The audience can see themselves and their own family in these characters. The Kids Are All Right really captures that level of like, acceptable passive-aggression that comes with the territory of being a couple for as long as Jules and Nic have. And the way these parents interact with their kids, clearly worried and wanting the best for them while the kids see it as overbearing and unnecessary is depicted brilliantly. I think most people can see their family in the way these characters interact. Even if the audience member didn’t have two moms or whatever.

The cast does a great job with the material they’re given. Annette Benning and Julianne Moore both received Oscar nominations for their performances and those were very well-deserved. In one of her earlier roles, Mia Wasikowska as Joni continues to prove to me that she’s one of the best actresses of her age. Josh Hutchinson rounds out the main family as Laser. He plays such a good teenager it’s almost a shame that due to the nature of time, he’s at a point in his career where he can’t do that any more.

I do worry that Mark Ruffalo is maybe 20% too charming and likeable for his character of Paul. I think, by the end of the movie the audience is meant to be a bit disenchanted with him as a character. However, likeable and cool as Ruffalo is, I personally wasn’t. Still, what a great concern to have; that one of the actors is too engaging and likeable.

I don’t have any major critiques of the film itself. Wait. That’s a lie. I have one. This movie presumably takes place around 2010. And yet these teenage kids are mostly doing things like playing scrabble and being outdoors. That’s not believable! I was a teen in 2010 and I can tell you, as a group we were pretty much all addicted to various screens. The least believable thing about this movie is how little time Joni, Laser and their other teenage pals spend on electronic devices. I don’t care if you were raised by lesbians, that doesn’t make you immune to Facebook and the internet at large.

Actually, my biggest concern is that The Kids Are All Right is maybe too good. It is basically the definitive modern family model movie. It’s borderline a shame that it is so good and popular because it’s sort of cornered this subgenre. There are absolutely more stories to tell about unconventional family models. Unfortunately, they’re all going to get compared to The Kids Are All Right and probably found to be lacking. So yes, my main critique of this movie is that perhaps it’s too good which might scare people off from making or viewing other movies similar to it.

Good as this movie was, would it have been better if I watched it in 2011? Probably. In the eight years since the movie’s release, acceptance of non-traditional families in real life and in media has moved forward quite a bit. The Kids Are All Right is probably part of this. The Kids Are All Right told a very unusual story in 2011. But by 2019, this story is a more common one. Already this movie does feel a touch dated. This is absolutely a good thing and really, it’s my own damn fault for waiting so long to see it. I do believe this will be a movie that holds up long term and will be cited in years to come as a groundbreaking film not only for its subject matter but its success with critics and a mainstream audience. Ultimately, The Kids Are All Right is an excellent film but not an all-time favourite of mine. But that’s just down to personal preference. And frankly, given how spotty my personal taste is, that’s probably a point in the movie’s favour.

Overall rating: 8.6/10

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