Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, and Julianne Moore head an ensemble cast in the family dramedy “The Kids Are All Right”. This film was a huge success at Sundance Film Festival, and has been getting a ton of critical praise now that it’s in nationwide release. Having seen it, “Kids” is simply put, a treat to watch.
Moore and Bening play Jules and Nic, a couple living in Los Angeles with their teenage children, Joni and Laser. Both children were conceived via artificial insemination, and eventually decide to try and meet with their birth father, Paul. As Paul begins to become a part of the family, a good deal of friction begins to arise between the parents and their childrens’ make-shift father figure, threatening the foundation of the whole family.
Not since 2006′s “Little Miss Sunshine” have the ins, outs, and dynamics of an American family been captured so honestly. This can be attributed to the truly fantastic ensemble cast. Annette Bening gives a career-best performance, playing an emotionally conflicted mother with depth, warmth and character. Julianne Moore (perhaps my very favorite modern actress) is great, although Bening’s character is undoubtedly more fleshed-out. But the real surprises here are the teenage children, Josh Hutcherson and “Alice in Wonderland”s Mia Wasikowska: They may be the most realistic, genuine youth performances in a very long time. They may not always be likable, but they feel real, which for me is immensely preferable.
The thing that works so much with this film is that the all the elements (script, cast, story) converge so organically and so seamlessly. We are immediately drawn into the lives of these characters, and the film never squanders our attention. Oddly enough, this movie is also hilarious. The humor is definitely more dialogue-driven than situation-driven, which is fairly unusual these days.
“The Kids Are All Right” comes in an strong summer for independent movie-making, and I have completely fallen in love with this film. If you can call yourself a fan of film, you owe it to yourself to see this film.
