The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening (particularly great in this) and Julianne Moore, has rendered the most cynical critics on the driest American papers near hysterical. "Just about everyone who has been a parent, child or partner will find resonance in its bittersweet depiction of the joys and trials of lifelong intimacy," sighed the Washington Post. The New York Times's critic, A O Scott, was so overcome he fell into a state of ellipses. He longed to describe The Kids Are All Right as "the best comedy since . . ." yet "grounds for comparison seem to be lacking so I may have to let the superlative stand unqualified for now".

The plot, admittedly, sounds like a bad sitcom: the teenage kids of a lesbian couple track down their feckless biological father (Mark Ruffalo, basically reprising the role he played in You Can Count On Me, which The Kids Are All Right resembles in pace and tone). Yet director/writer Lisa Cholodenko is too good to churn out a sapphic My Two Dads. Her movie is smart, hilarious and will do for heirloom tomatoes what When Harry Met Sally did for people who order things "on the side".

But the plaudits have not precluded debate. Predictably the most attention-grabbing issue has been whether, as happens in the movie, lesbians watch gay male porn and, if so, why. This has resulted in articles on websites such as The Daily Beast, filled with explanations that one doesn't usually see on websites that don't have a triple x in their domain name.

Cholodenko has not just made a film about lesbians feel mainstream, or a good movie about lesbians, or even a smart summer movie: she has made a great film.

The Kids Are All Right Synopsis:
A couple, Nic and Jules (Annette Benning 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.

The Kids Are All Right has been released to theaters since July 7, 2010.

Link: The Kids are all right Forum