The Kids Are All Right (and we will be, too)

Pictured (left to right): Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Mia Wasikowska, Mark Ruffalo

Frankly, I support any film that involves an impromptu Joni Mitchell sing-a-long between Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo. If that had been the only scene I watched from this summer gem, my opinion would probably be the same as it is now. But this is not to say that was the only moment of enjoyment. “The Kids Are All Right” is a fresh, smart, and ultimately brave comedy that delights and enlightens its audiences from start to finish.

The key is that it makes its statement without actually making it. Like “The Hurt Locker” commented on the Middle East by allowing the soldiers to speak for themselves, “Kids” presents the fact that Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are a married lesbian couple as established fact, no need for further discussion. This is Mom and Mom, these are their kids, this is their life. Believe it or not, it’s a lot like yours.

Nic (Bening) is mama bear, ready to defend her cubs and mate from any intruders. Jules (Moore) is the free-spirit, the “I’m your friend” parent, though not as embarrassing as say, Phil Dunphy of “Modern Family.” Their children Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) are anywhere’s teenagers, profoundly confused and defensive when asked about it. Together they are (for all intents and purposes) a traditional American family.

Things change of course when Joni and Laser, out of pure curiosity, decide to contact their mothers’ sperm donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Paul is the definition of a “cool dude” but Laser has it right when he initially characterizes him as “a little into himself.” He is their sperm donor, not their father. Through the bizarre yet very realistic triangle that emerges between the three adults, the audience begins to realize that the kids may in fact be the only ones who are all right (but still not great).

Early in the film Jules attempts to explain to Laser that “human sexuality can be very complicated” and none prove this more than her. The sexual relationship that emerges between Jules and Paul is curious but honest. As she and Nic drift father apart, she seeks Paul’s companionship as a refuge of appreciation and unbiased support. Not to mention, he is a part of her children, creating between them a connection that I think goes beyond any dictates of sexual preference.

The performances are spot on all around. Bening and Moore are tender and believable, we root for them through and through. Mark Ruffalo is the best he’s been in years thanks to a director who understands what to do with his sleepy mumble. As for the kids, Wasikowska is at her "In Treatment" best and Hutcherson can easily call this his breakthrough.

I very gladly add "The Kids Are All Right" to my list of 2010’s best (which right now has I Am Love in its #1 spot). It is emotional yet understated, clever but not full of itself. In terms of its politics, as said before, it does not preach in the slightest. It simply shows how today’s everchanging image of the “nuclear family” is still, at its core, facing the same challenges it has since the idea of the American Dream began.