A comical look at family dysfunction

In ‘The Kids Are All Right’ Joni and Laser are two teens living the American dream. Laser, 15, is a high school sports jock while his 18-year-old sister Joni has aced her exams and is set to embark on a new life at college.

They live in a sunny, bohemian suburb of Los Angeles with their lesbian mums Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore).

But Joni’s last summer at home is disrupted when her brother decides he wants to track down their biological father - a sperm donor.

They arrange a secret meeting with Paul (Mark Ruffalo) whose sperm donation enabled their mums to conceive.

He is a 30-something organic farmer and restaurateur who has long shirked his responsibilities and enjoyed sleeping with a string of beauties.

His happy go lucky lifestyle is a breath of fresh air to the impressionable teens, and they eventually break the news of their discovery to their horrified mums.

Needless to say they struggle to accept their children’s flourishing relationship with their new found father. But it also forces them to confront the cracks in their own stagnant marriage.

Nic, the controlling working mother, is very upset by the sudden involvement of Paul in her children’s lives but Jules (who has mostly been a stay at home mum) warms to him after he hires her to design and construct his back yard.

Paul soon falls for Jules and plays on her vulnerability to lure her into bed.

Their affair is short lived and confusing for both, and Jules finally puts a stop to it insisting she is not heterosexual.

In typical movie style, the dirty secret eventually comes out, with devastating consequences for the whole family.

Bening tackles a tricky role well, portraying the anger and heartache of a cheated-on wife with raw emotion. And Moore’s portrayal of a free and easy hippy mum is charming enough, but grated a little on me.

The adolescent confusion and awkwardness experienced by the two teenagers is also well handled in a mature and believable way.

But it’s Ruffalo’s performance that really stands out. Paul’s uncomfortable position among his new family and awkward comments at the dinner table were a spectacle to behold.

Without resorting to stereotypes the film deals with the difficulties of growing up in an unconventional family. But it also looks deeper into family life and the emotional tug-of-war experienced when kids grow up and become independent.

The parents’ relationship, too, is explored in a sensitive way. Their marriage has all the dynamics of any straight couple who have been together for 20 years.

They enjoy a healthy sex life, too, but I for one had to look away when this was brought to the screen - it made me cringe, only in the way you would if it was your parents under the covers.

And sure enough, the scene is followed by Joni and Laser rushing hurriedly past the bedroom door, covering their ears.

Humour comes in large doses in this film, and at times it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

But appropriately it never mocks the characters, or the situations they are in.

It instead shows us a different type of family life - one we may not be as accustomed to - and shows that they have just as much love and flaws as any other family.

Director and co-writer Lisa Cholodenko - a lesbian herself - has crafted a sensitive piece and she has been well-served by three fine performances from her lead actors.

by Hayley Gallimore

star rating HHHH