Los Angeles Film Festival

The Kids Are All Right

(USA, 2010, 105 mins, DCP)

Executive Producers: Steven Saxton, Ron Stein, Christy Cashman, Anne O'Shea, Riva Marker, Andrew Sawyer, Neil Katz, J. Todd Harris
Producers: Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Philippe Hellman
Screenwriters: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
Cinematographer: Igor Jadue-Lillo
Editor: Jeffrey M. Werner
Cast: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson

In Lisa Cholodenko's intoxicating and deeply touching comedy, Annette Bening's Nic—a Type A doctor with a tongue that can get tart on her third glass of wine—and Julianne Moore's Jules—the warmer, flakier partner—are going through a rough patch in their relationship. Matters are further complicated when their teenaged kids, Joni and Laser (wonderfully played by Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), track down their biological father. Played by a very seductive Mark Ruffalo, he's a cool, laid-back, motorcycle-riding restaurant owner who's happy to insinuate himself into the family circle, whether the kids' ""momzies"" like it or not. One does (a lot) and one doesn't.

Cholodenko, who wrote the wise, sparkling screenplay with Stuart Blumberg, fuses classic Hollywood craftsmanship with a generous and sophisticated indie spirit in this irresistible exploration of the true meaning of family. Bening and Moore, two of our finest actors, are at the top of their game here: their chemistry is delicious. Unpredictable, un-polemical, and un-politically correct, The Kids Are All Right is a crowd-pleaser in the most honorable sense of the term.

David Ansen

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