Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo. are hits

Movie: The Kids are All Right
Director: Lisa Cholodenko (and writer with Stuart Blumberg)
Cast: Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple, Mark Ruffalo as the donor, and Mia Wasikowska (from In Treatment) and Josh Hutcherson as their teenage children.
Language: English
Release Date: July 2010

Should You See it? I am not normally a fan of comedies. But I would definitely go see this. Superb acting, realistic sets, and a sensitive approach to potentially emotionally charged issues.

In a Nutshell:

Bening and Moore are a happily married couple. They have a house in the 'burbs, 2 teenage children, and a healthy outlook on life. Oh, if I forgot to mention it before, Bening and Moore are two women and the couple is a lesbian couple. But, after all, it is 2010. The children seem quite happy--the couple has the usual worries: they don't like the kid the son hangs out with; they are wondering if their daughter is having sex; Moore seems unfulfilled with her role in life; and Bening is busy being a doctor with too many patients.

As the film begins, Laser (the 15 year old son) is pushing Joni (the 18 year old daughter named after Joni Mitchell) to try to learn who the sperm donor is. Of course, they find the clinic, the donor is called and he agrees to meet with them. Cool, he thinks. Cool, they think. The mothers--not too happy about upsetting their perfect little situation. On to the scene appears the character of Ruffalo. He seems to be just the foil for this family--he grows organic veggies, sleeps with various women, and rides a motorcycle. Just the thing any middle class, modern family, wants to enter their life.

You will find yourself laughing at many of the incidents that transpire as the film progresses. But of course, things are not always perfect in the perfect little family. You need to see this film.

So, if you are looking for some refreshing ideas, go to see this. And remember. It is 2010. So you might see some scenes that movies of the past would not show so graphically.

Now, full disclosure. I have a lesbian daughter and a granddaughter who has a sperm donor. She is too young to ask about meeting him right now. But I am open for anything in the future.