The Kids Are All Right

Not only at the Sundance Film Festival, but also at this year's Berlinale, director Lisa Cholodenko ("Laurel Canyon") has not only caused storms of applause, but also lively discussions with her latest film "The Kids Are All Right". You can see for yourself why now, when the somewhat different family comedy opens in our cinemas.

Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) lead a picture-perfect life as a married lesbian couple with their two children Laser (Josh Hutcherson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska, "Alice in Wonderland"), at least on the outside. But when the kids set out to find the man who donated his sperm to their mothers, and find him in charming restaurant owner Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the family's lives are shaken up. The resolute Nic in particular doesn't like the fact that her clear rules are being thrown overboard more and more often and that Jules wants to realize her dream of a career in landscaping with Paul's help. And indeed, it soon looks like the already unusual family relationships will have to be completely redefined...

"The Kids Are All Right" transports elements of standard family comedies and dramas into a fresh, unused setting. With clever dialogue, interesting characters, and against conventions more common to Hollywood films, Cholodenko tells a very nice story that is also very personal. When she co-wrote the script with Stuart Blumberg, himself a former sperm donor, she and her partner had just tried to get pregnant through artificial insemination. Perhaps it is this personal connection and the both male and female influences in the script that make this film so charming.

It is refreshing to see a film about a homosexual cohabitation that shows that the problems are exactly the same as those that heterosexual cohabitants have to deal with. The fact that Cholodenko eschews the usual clichés here and doesn't make the homosexuality of the main characters the all-dominant factor in the story contributes greatly to the film's success.

In addition, of course, "The Kids Are All Right" has a great cast. The chemistry between Annette Bening and Julianne Moore is perfect, and it's no trouble at all to take the loving couple from them. But it is just as understandable how Paul, played by Mark Ruffalo, can break into this, at first glance, very solid cohabitation with his carefree nature. And Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, best known from the criminally underrated "The Bridge to Terabithia", also fit perfectly into the scenery. It's an all-around cohesive ensemble that's just a lot of fun to watch.

While some side characters and plot elements are handled a bit too quickly, losing entirely to the actual story. But the bottom line is that despite these minor flaws, "The Kids Are All Right"is a very entertaining relationship comedy, an all-around great piece of American independent cinema that entertains at a high level and can therefore be absolutely recommended.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp