The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right is about a family on the verge of becoming very messed up.  No, they're not messed up because the parents are a lesbian couple whose kids were conceived via a sperm donor.  In fact, that's the most normal part about them.  It's when the kids secretly decide to contact the aforementioned sperm donor when things inadvertently begin to unravel.

Workaholic doctor Nic (Annette Bening) and not-so-much of a workaholic Jules (Julianne Moore) are a happily married couple with two teenaged children:  recent high school graduate Joni (Alice in Wonderland's Mia Wasikowska), and 15-year-old Laser (the almost-Spiderman Josh Hutcherson).  While both kids are perfectly content with their two-mom family structure, Laser seeks a father figure in his life and pressures his now 18-year-old sister to contact the sperm bank where they were conceived to see if they can find their father.

Thankfully, their father Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a hipster organic gardner/restaurant owner who says "Right on!" a lot, is not completely weirded out upon learning he has two children, and he agrees to meet with them.  The meeting goes well, but soon enough their moms find out what is going on and suddenly they all have to deal with this unexpected addition to their family, which threatens to send their lives into a tailspin.  

Directed by Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right was a favorite at Sundance this year and won the Best Feature Film "Teddy" award at the Berlin International Film Festival.  While I'm not sure it's headed for that kind of acclaim come awards time later this year (although the performances were certainly good enough - especially Mark Ruffalo, who steals every scene he's in), it's still a solid little film that's a nice break from the usual summer blockbuster madness.  It has some funny moments, it has quite a few sad moments that I wasn't expecting, but it's all completely relatable and a touching look at a family in crisis. 

The Kids Are All Right is currently in limited release, although it's already grossed an impressive $2.5 million in just 38 theaters nationwide.  It expands to 115 theaters today, and will hopefully expand further in the next few weeks.  If family dramedies are your thing, you can't go wrong with this one.