The Kids Are All Right: (July 30th, 2010): R
Distributor: Focus Features
Opening Weekend Box-Office: $491,971 with limited release
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $16,721,391
Gross Revenue: $16,731,000
Budget: $4,000,000
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Despite its extremely limited release in early July, this humble independent film is the perfect example of how word-of-mouth can spread like wildfire. Once critics caught wind of the high-caliber acting talent present in the cast of The Kids Are All Right, led by none other than two of Hollywood’s most respected actresses, all that was left for marketers to do was attach a few quotes to some trailers and sit back. Now, I’m not trying to imply that marketers were swinging for the fences in terms of box-office returns, but given a small budget and a limited release, I’m still impressed with the level of exposure achieved. Granted, I didn’t think that movie-goers were about to be hit by the next My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for both Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, so I was excited to see what they could accomplish together. Bottom line, the inherent simplicity of this already well-received indy-flick seemed to promise a nice change of pace from some of the bigger-budget popcorn-flicks that I’ve been writing about all summer.
The plot of The Kids Are All Right involves an in-depth look at a very non-traditional family. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play lesbian couple Nic and Jules, who both gave birth to a child with the help of the same anonymous sperm donor. The children are now teenagers, and older sister Joni (Mia Wasikowska) works with her brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) to seek out their biological father, who turns out to be the very free-spirited Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Nic and Jules are very traditional parents who are already preparing to send Joni to college, and they can’t help but feel threatened when their children begin spending more and more time with their biological father, who delights in the new family he has been granted. When all these diverse elements start to mingle, certain relationships are tested and this very non-traditional family must work through this very important time of transition.
As I look back over some of the earlier reviews for The Kids Are All Right, I could not agree more that the performances given by the cast are nothing short of superb. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore bring humor and depth to the characters; Bening’s straight-laced Nic and Moore’s easy-going Jules are a fully believable couple, and watching their interactions on-screen is simple and enjoyable. It’s going to be a hard call if both end up being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, because they both more than deserve the honor. Mark Ruffalo is perfect as the thorn that threatens the stability of Nic and Jules’ family, and between this and his other strong performances is some of my personal favorites such as Zodiac and Shutter Island, he more than demonstrates his talent as an actor. Though I was against the casting change, I can’t help but be curious to see how he handles the superhero genre when we see him as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in 2012’s The Avengers. When it comes to the kids referred to in the title, Josh Hutcherson does well as the conflicted teenage son, but the real surprise is Mia Wasikowska, (who audiences will recognize from her trip down the rabbit hole this past spring in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland), who is clearly torn between her loyalty to her mothers and her inherent desire to get to know the father who has been a mystery her entire life. It is indeed rare to have unanimously strong performances among an entire cast, but if a film is lucky enough to pull it off, the result is a welcome treat for movie-goers.
In writing this review, I am having a considerably difficult time trying to find anything negative to say about The Kids Are All Right. If anything, I can see how this film might have a limited appeal; gay marriage is a pretty contentious issue, and I feel like some of the more traditional audiences could be uncomfortable with some of the displays of affection depicted, but this is a trivial criticism at best. What makes The Kid Are All Right work so well is its brilliant simplicity; we are watching an engaging family navigate conflicts that are both familiar and relatable. I’m not saying that we all know a lesbian couple who has a tenuous relationship with their children’s sperm-donor father, but almost everyone can empathize with a parent’s difficulty in sending their child to college or a child’s desire to learn more about a parent. Few would think that watching a family work through issues would be so engrossing, but the formula works surprisingly well.
Given a limited release of only seven theaters, an opening weekend of just under half-a-million is damn impressive, giving it the highest opening weekend average gross of any film this year. The beauty of such a strong movie with a small budget is that it isn’t too hard to recover production expenses…some might scoff at a revenue of just over $10 million, but that’s still two-and-a-half times what it cost to make the film. I don’t expect this early Oscar contender to go anywhere but up. With an excellent blend of humor and drama brought to life by a superbly talented cast, The Kids Are All Right is a film that you cannot afford to miss.
Overall Recommendation: Very High
