Just because you take a standard concept and tweak it a bit, doesn’t mean you’ve created an original film. Take the parents — struggling with their relationship and their kids — and make them lesbians. Take the long lost father and make him a hip organic farmer. And take the rebellious teenage son and name him Laser — thats right … Laser — and you have “The Kids are All Right.”
Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) have the normal American life. They are married, have two kids and live in a comfortable home. The difference is that they’re both women, and their children are the offspring of a sperm donor. As their kids are maturing — Joni (Mia Wasikowska) is leaving for college — they become curious of the man who gave them half of their genes.
As Laser (Josh Hutcherson) is only 15, Joni is the one to contact the sperm bank and set up a meeting with their donor. Remaining interested after meeting their donor Paul (Mark Ruffalo), they tell their parents, invite Paul over for dinner and from there on make him a new part of their lives — for better or for worse.
Everyone loves this film. Critics are praising it left and right, and some are even talking about Oscar nominations. I can’t seem to understand where any of this is coming from.
“The Kids Are All Right” is flawed. The film is nothing more than the struggles of middle class marriage, being a teenager and life in general — set in an alternative California setting.
The performances, which have also been praised, are subpar to average at best. I have already forgotten John Hutcherson, Mia Wasikowska lacks the necessary emotion and Julianne Moore just isn’t a believable lesbian. Bening does the controlling authority figure well enough, though, and Mark Ruffalo’s charm saves him.
The real problem lies in the situations. It portrays awkward interaction realistically but quickly ruins it with weak dialogue and unlikable characters.The only one that is relatively interesting is Paul, and the way the filmmaking handles his character is somewhat insulting to the audience.
The more I think about it, the more annoyed I become with this film. Characters and writing are what make films successful, and both left me more than unimpressed. When it comes down to it, “The Kids” are just alright.