The Kids Are All Right


2010 dramedy

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Two siblings with lesbian parents decide to meet the sperm daughter who made that happen.

This is a slice of a life middle America is unlikely to connect with here, but the relationships feel authentic. Nothing's spelled out with them, the performers doing a good job of letting the characters' pasts and even futures manifest naturally. When this movie's funny, it's funny in a natural way; likewise, when this movie gets sad, it happens naturally.

I enjoyed the dialogue--explanations of Scrabble plays (enough Scrabble in this movie to make me think it's product placement), discussions about whether or not a dog's head should be peed upon, etc.

During most of Mark Ruffalo's scenes, he's fidgeting or eating something. It seems as if he thought that would give the character some personality. "Let me try that scene again, but this time, I'll try it while eating a stick of celery." It worked for me, and if I were a lesbian, I'd likely want to have sex with him. I mean, he does have a motorcycle and all.

I believe it would take me another watch to really figure out what this movie is saying with these relationships and their shifting dynamics.

No comments: