Oscar® Nominee for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress in a leading role, and Best Actor in a supporting roleThe Kids Are All Right
for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use.
| Moral Rating: | Extremely Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
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| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Comedy Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 46 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2010 |
| USA Release: |
January 25, 2010 (festival) July 9, 2010 (limited) July 30, 2010 (wide) DVD: November 16, 2010 |
What does the Bible say about same sex marriages? Answer
LESBIAN—What’s wrong with being gay? Answer
Homosexual behavior versus the Bible: Are people born gay? Does homosexuality harm anyone? Is it anyone’s business? Are homosexual and heterosexual relationships equally valid?
What about gays and lesbians needs to change? Answer
It may not be what you think.
Can a gay or lesbian person go to heaven? Answer
If a homosexual accepts Jesus into his heart, but does not want to change his lifestyle, can he/she still go to Heaven?
What should be the attitude of the church toward homosexuals and homosexuality? Answer
Read stories about those who have struggled with homosexuality
EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR—Adultery in the Bible
Should I save sex for marriage? Answer
How far is too far? What are the guidelines for dating relationships? Answer
MALE AND FEMALE NUDITY—Why are humans supposed to wear clothes? Answer
Drunkenness in the Bible
How can I tell if I’m getting addicted to pornography or sex? Answer
How can I deal with temptations? Answer
Marriage in the Bible
Is formalized marriage becoming obsolete? Answer
Many people are convinced that traditional marriages don’t work and that this practice should be abandoned. What does the Bible say about marriage?
Is inter-ethnic marriage biblical?
What are the consequences of racial prejudice and false beliefs about the origin of races? Answer
Sin and the Bible
Fall of man to sin
sperm donor / artificial insemination
mother-son relationship
brother-sister relationship
| Featuring | Annette Bening (Nic), Julianne Moore (Jules), Mark Ruffalo (Paul), Mia Wasikowska (Joni), Josh Hutcherson (Laser), Joseph Stephens Jr. (Mailman), Yaya DaCosta (Tanya), Rachael Lee (Teen partygoer—uncredited), Kunal Sharma (Jai), Eddie Hassell (Clay), Zosia Mamet (Sasha), Joaquín Garrido (Luis), Rebecca Lawrence (Brooke), Lisa Eisner (Stella), Eric Eisner (Joel), Sasha Spielberg (Waify Girl), James MacDonald (Clay’s Dad), Margo Victor (Bartender), Amy Grabow (Pregnant Woman), Stuart Blumberg (Sous-chef) |
| Director |
Lisa Cholodenko |
| Producer | Mandalay Vision, Saint Aire Production, 10th Hole Productions, Antidote Films, Artist International Management, Artist International, Gilbert Films, UGC PH, Charles E. Bush Jr., Gary Gilbert, J. Todd Harris, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Neil Katz, Todd J. Labarowski, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Riva Marker, Camille Moreau, Joel Newton, Anne O'Shea, Celine Rattray, Laura Rosenthal, Andy Sawyer, Steven Saxton, Christy Scott Cashman, Ron Stein, Bergen Swanson, Daniela Taplin Lundberg |
| Distributor |
 Focus Features, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal/Comcast |
“Nic and Jules had the perfect family, until they met the man who made it all possible.”
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “A lesbian couple, Nic and Jules (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore), live with their teenage children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), in a cozy craftsman bungalow in Los Angeles. As Joni prepares for college, her younger brother pesters her for a big favor-help him find their biological father. Against her better judgment, she makes a call to the sperm bank; the bank, in turn, calls Paul (Mark Ruffalo) and asks him if he’s willing to meet his daughter. He agrees, and a complicated new chapter begins for the family.
Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her ‘nine to five’ life, sometimes trying to start a business—always unsuccessfully—or being the stay at home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni and Laser, Nic who is Joni’s biological mother, and Jules who is Laser’s biological mother. Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Shortly after Joni’s eighteenth birthday and shortly before she plans to leave the house and head off to college, Laser, only fifteen and underage to do so, pleads with her to try and contact their sperm donor father. Somewhat reluctantly, she does.
He is late thirty-something Paul, a co-op farmer and restaurateur. Despite his seemingly successful businesses, Paul has always shirked responsibility, most specifically in his personal life. After Joni and Laser meet with Paul, Nic and Jules learn what their children have done, and although they don’t want Paul infiltrating their lives, they want to meet him especially as Joni and Laser seem to want to maintain some sort of relationship with him. As Paul’s relationship with the entire family grows, which also includes him hiring Jules to design and construct his back yard, they have an effect on what he wants in life, and he in turn affects the family dynamic as well as each person’s relationships outside of the family.”
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
none
The plot is shallow and boring; all the important points are shown in the trailer, there are no other twists or interesting details. Since it’s supposed to be a comedy, I expected it to have a lot more funny moments, but I only laughed once the entire movie. The acting was mediocre from most and completely poor from a few. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, who were both nominated for Golden Globes, were good, but not what I would call excellent and certainly not deserving of any major awards. I didn’t think they had much chemistry; their relationship just wasn’t believable. As much as I disagree with it morally, I’m sure two others could have done a better job with their characters.
***POSSIBLE SPOILERS*** Besides just being unenjoyable, the film was also offensive in almost every way. To start with, it centers on a family raised by two lesbians. In the first ten minutes, the 15 year old son is shown using cocaine. There is only one lesbian sex scene, and it’s short and easily skipped (I was able to fast forward easily enough). There are, also, two other major sex scenes. Nic and Jules kiss a few times throughout the film. Jules and Paul have an affair, and even though she is already in a sinful relationship to begin with, I was still offended by this.
The language isn’t as heavy as may be expected for an R rating, about 10 F-words and other mild profanities are spread throughout. Overall, I didn’t find this movie deserving of my time or its many wins at the Golden Globes, and wouldn’t recommend it.
Even if you can stomach its moral flaws, it’s just not very entertaining.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2