Written by: Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
Rating: [3/5]
The inclination in finding one’s roots to have a better understanding of themselves has proved a natural leaning for individuals from those adopted who want to learn about their birth parents and individuals shipping off their DNA to companies that will assist with tracking genealogy. However, when tracking down biological but absent parents, it can certainly make the parents who have been around feel harmed in the process, which The Kids Are All Right captures in charming style as we follow this unique circumstance.
Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) used the same sperm donor to have their now grown children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Laser and Joni have gained an interest in learning about the sperm donor and their biological father Paul (Mark Ruffalo). As they get to know him, so do Nic and Jules where the former takes issue with the inclusion of this man in their family dynamic.
Dysfunction breeds good drama when watching a movie centered on family, and this situation certainly provides it. We have two women who needed the inclusion of some man’s sperm in order to biologically have children, so they took the route of using a sperm donor. Taking this route says from the onset that they had no interest in having this person involved in the lives of the children the sperm would produce. Certainly something easy to state, but when those children have the curiosity of making that decision for themselves it opens a can of worms and we see it all play out.
Of the many things The Kids Are All Right does, providing the various perspectives of this awkward situation sits near the top, and each one has value. The most confrontational point of view of them all, the one held by Nic comes from a place of hurt where she cannot believe the children she gave a great life to would feel something missing in their lives that they would reach out to a stranger. Jules does not mind as much and the children have that right in wanting to know about where half of their DNA comes from. Then we have Paul, who lives quite the carefree lifestyle and sees this as a circumstance where he can connect with his biological children and bear none of the responsibility in taking care of them. The ultimate cool uncle position while also being their biological father.
As you can imagine, plenty of drama unfolds in this feature and it goes in places I did not expect that the trailer does outline but the film does dig into these imperfect relationships and even if steam gets lost in them, they still have plenty of value. We see this, particularly, with Nic and Jules as they reach a phase in marriage all the passion has subsided and the presence of Paul creates tension there. Therefore, we have Nic expressing a feeling that she’s losing her entire family to this guy.
When we get to Paul’s continual inclusion in the film and the scenes he has with each family member, it does lose some of its steam. For as Bohemian and free Paul is with his attitude, which differs greatly from everyone else, the film takes this story in directions that just felt tedious and while in service of the plot just made me lose interest in his presence in the narrative. I can still appreciate what Ruffalo brings to the film, but it did make me yearn for more involving the married couple because as much as the title of this feature focus on the kids, they drive most of the intrigue of the story through their relationship.
Right down the line much like all of her films, Lisa Cholodenko creates perhaps her most enjoyable feature in The Kids Are All Right. She utilizes her All-star cast well in bringing out what makes them all individually great. While the film loses some of its luster as we move along, it still manages to deliver the laughs and the drama this situation calls for ultimately making it an enjoyable viewing experience. It has this lightness to it with all the pleasantry involved while still very much acknowledging the importance of this dynamic.
Films with Josh 
