FAMILY TIES

Redefining the Modern Family

The Kids Are AH Right is a funny, sexy film that turns the world of domestic comedy upside down. It stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as Nic and Jules, a longtime lesbian couple in a moment of marital crisis as their two teenage children—played by Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson seek out their long-lost father, a sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). Directed by Lisa Cholodenko(High Art and Laurel Canyon), who co-wrote the script with Stuart Blumberg, the film, on the surface, is a pretty “square” story of a conventional gay family—a cranky doctor and a stay-at-home wife struggling with the familiar issues of raising children and intimacy but quickly inverts itself, pushing the boundaries of domestic tranquillity. “It's a politically incorrect story, because Nic. the doctor [Bening], is drinking too much, and Jules [Moore] starts sleeping with the sperm donor, so there's no politics behind it. but at the same time it's about standing behind your family, working through your problems, and being there for your children.” says Cholodenko. Wonderfully comic and emotionally resonant. The Kids Are All Right is a great date film regardless of what brand of date you're on.

A. M. HOMES