20) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Stars: Annette Bening, Juianna Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell
Year: 2010
Rating: R

Nic (Annette Bening), a physician, has been in a committed, long-term relationship with Jules (Julianne Moore) long enough for the two of them to have raised a pair of teenagers. While not without its problems (Nic has tendency to lean toward both controlling behavior and alcohol, while Jules hasn't always been happy with her supporting role of stay-at-home mom), they're a happy couple similar to any other happily married couple in their neighborhood; they even make for good parents, with Nic at the disciplinarian whereas Jules retains the more laidback, flower-child mentality of her youth.

Each woman carried and gave birth to her own child, both kids fathered by the same sperm donor almost two decades before; now both Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) simply refer to them as "the moms" or "my moms," and having a pair of women has always simply been the norm.

But as Joni's eighteenth birthday nears, Laser (who is only fifteen) in particular pressures her to exert her legal right to find out who their sperm donor father was ... which leads both teens, without their moms' knowledge, to find local restaurant owner Paul (Mark Ruffalo) - who, at first, is quite uncomfortable with meeting them, unsure of his role in their lives or even what to say. Laser's unimpressed but Joni takes an instant liking to her affable, scruffy donor-dad, and neither teen understands, as Paul slowly becomes more and more involved in all their lives, why Nic and Jules (especially Nic) seem so against the idea. Jules, trying to start up her own landscaping business, even gets hired by Paul to work on his place, and as Paul is let in on the family dynamics more and more, events happen and things change in ways that lead to conflicts both comical and dramatic ... and a specific problem that, much like real life, isn't so cleanly and neatly resolved by "the end."

What makes The Kids Are All Right work so beautifully is the total believability of the characters - and the actors who play them. Bening and Ruffalo (both Oscar-nominated) and Moore all turn in such humane performances; in particular, you never once DON'T believe that Jules and Nic are a married couple who talk and fight and love just like a real-life married couple would. Ruffalo's Paul is a real gem; like Jules, Paul is more laidback and casual - a trait that leads to his big issues in the film, with Ruffalo making him completely real and sympathetic, even when he's doing something wrong. Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, both given less to do here, still bring heart to the film playing a pair of teens who wholly love their moms, even as they sometimes drive them crazy (again, just like real-life teens).

Funny, heartwarming, and at turns touching and sweet, The Kids Are All Right has a great script and cast who come off as real people on-screen; real people who live, love, make mistakes, and hope those mistakes can be forgiven. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See