The Kids Are All Right

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The Kids Are All Right - 26/10/2010 11:47:36 AM

Empire Admin

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Post #: 1

Fantastic film - 26/10/2010 11:47:36 AM

MarieMJS

Posts: 311
Joined: 15/11/2006
From: London

I saw that a few weeks ago in France and it was absolutely amazing,
It did something that even many movies with straight couples couldn't achieve: shows the struggle of a marriage, and the difficulties of making it work, which could happen to any couples of any orientation.
By tackling this very topic, plus the situation with the kids wondering about their biological father and the crisis it creates, it's a modern tale of a modern family facing a new challenge, and it's so damn good.
And never once it turns in to a political movie about gay rights, because it embraces the fact that we are past that now, and a gay family is just like any other family, with its own sets of difficulties and happy times. Brilliant choice.
On a side note, as a gay woman myself, I cannot explain how great it was to finally see a believable credible lesbian couple on the big screen, especially when the director didn't shy away from getting two super famous actresses to play the said couple. It's a refreshing sight, and Annette Benning deserves a Oscar in my book, I was really touched by her performance (Mind you, the whole cast is bloody fantastic as well).
I'm going to see Lisa Cholodenko's masterclass/interview at the NFT tonight, I can't wait!!

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Post #: 2

Good, but nothing that impressive... - 1/11/2010 12:58:54 AM

Tim_Walker

Posts: 1
Joined: 1/11/2010

Just been out to see The Kids Are Alright. It was pretty good, though not the must-see I'd rather been expecting. Central performances excellent - obviously Annette Bening & Julianne Moore, but also Mark Ruffalo. Also a very good newcomer performance (playing the daughter) from Mia Wasikowska - watch out for more from her.

It felt slightly overlong at 106 mins, perhaps because it ran out of things to say? Or maybe it was more that it didn't really know what it was trying to say, beyond some rather obvious truisms. The story was solid but predictable. It rather petered out towards the end - again it felt like the writer-director had run out of ideas. It also got a tiny bit preachy and self-righteous, though not so as to completely ruin it. A couple of the characters, notably the son, were very vague and didn't really go anywhere. Actually (and, to be fair, this makes a change from the norm) both male leads were very underwritten compared with the female characters. The writing was fun and sharp, especially in the first half, but it certainly wasn't as funny a film as I'd expected. The laughs tended to come from great performance rather than much inherently funny in the script.

The lesbian couple/marriage hook was dealt with very well, I thought (at least from the point of view of this heterosexual male). Certainly the issue didn't dominate the film in any way, although it probably played a part in the fates the characters were ultimately dealt. Where the film was strong in identifying the importance/difficulties of family/relationships, whatever the mix. Any sexual politics or message it was trying to convey was done relatively subtly.

I'd recommend seeing it, just not with massively high expectations.

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Post #: 3

Not Happy Families..... - 2/11/2010 5:45:20 PM

n13roy

Posts: 81
Joined: 5/10/2005

Just come back from the Cinema after watching " The Kids are Allright " and to be honest, its a difficult one to call. The acting is superb, the subject matter is a bit weird / strange though, and its a bit of a long winded affair all round. Its not a BAD Film, but one I think will have a limited audience that do actually enjoy it.........

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Post #: 4

Not Happy Families..... - 2/11/2010 5:45:23 PM

n13roy

Posts: 81
Joined: 5/10/2005

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Post #: 5

RE: Not Happy Families..... - 3/11/2010 10:26:52 AM

Wild about Wilder

Posts: 1486
Joined: 9/4/2010
From: Hertfordshire

Have to agree with that although felt sorry for Ruffalo's character at the end where it was just like OH BAD HETROSEXUAL MAN! & just banished from the film I could understand if he was a dick but his character was a pretty decent type of a bloke, bit of a HIPPY but decent enough.

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Post #: 6

Good but just doesn't quite make it to great! - 3/12/2010 12:32:14 AM

tothemax100

Posts: 6
Joined: 23/6/2008

The acting is superb, the subject matter is interesting, as are the characters and in general its nicely done. I think it it just doesn't have the vital spark to make it a great movie and I think it will have a limited audience because of the 'different' subject matter but if you are lucky enough to see it you'll be entertained for a couple of hours.

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Post #: 7

- 3/1/2011 11:23:30 PM

reminn

Posts: 142
Joined: 22/10/2010

Average.

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Post #: 8

RE: Not Happy Families..... - 26/9/2011 10:38:05 AM

brucejackiejet

Posts: 45
Joined: 26/4/2011

Completely agree with Wilder. Saw this recently and thought yes the acting was great and as mentioned in the review it has a light breezy feel, but at the end it was like the writer just completely forget about Mark Ruffalo's character! He was a really likeable guy with no malicious intent towards anyone, and yet somehow we were all supposed to forgive Jules for her actions but not him. The tone clearly seemed to imply the film had a happy ending, yet it was anything but for him.

Thinking about it, I do find Ruffalo likeable in most movies, so wonder if perhaps Paul had been played by another actor it would have made him more of a 'bad man', so we didn't actually care about the fact his life had got screwed. Shame as with a better ending it could have been much more satisfying.

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Post #: 9

RE: Not Happy Families..... - 26/9/2011 10:52:41 AM

thetruth

Posts: 1548
Joined: 3/8/2011

Cliched tripe which doesnt really know what it�s saying.
Bad hetrosexual man!

_____________________________

Without love we are dead

Protect children from vile and obscene videos

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Post #: 10

The Kids Are All Right Review - 17/2/2012 10:14:13 PM

the film man

Posts: 598
Joined: 13/10/2010

Worthwhile as both a well-acted ensemble piece and as a smart, warm statement on family values, The Kids Are All Right is remarkable.

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Post #: 11

Very Good - 19/1/2013 10:58:02 PM

MIKETHEBIKE2006

Posts: 6
Joined: 17/7/2006

Enjoyable with a few laughs along the way.
All the actors were great.
Mark Ruffalo is certainly choosing some good roles.