Finding your inner Laser

Don’t you hate it when your sperm donation ends up contacting you after they turn 18? It can really disrupt your life.

Back in the early 90s, Paul made a few anonymous genetic donations for 60 bucks a pop. Starting their own family, lesbian couple Jules and Nic took advantage of Paul’s donations, resulting in the birth of their children Joni and Laser…yeah, you read that right, “Laser.”

Fast forward to today—Laser, now 15, petitions his 18-year-old sister Joni to contact their biological father. Though bearing no interest in the matter herself, Joni does so for her brother. And thus begins The Kids Are All Right, a journey through a variety of issues and scenarios including family, parenting and coming of age.

Because it’s being released by Focus Features—the company that brought you such cultured films as Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Away We Go—you’re not going to get through the movie as straightforwardly as you might expect.

Each character could have their own film centered entirely on them during the course of this movie. Mark Ruffalo is Paul, an individual—perhaps too self-centered—confronted with the awareness of what he has been missing in life. Nic and Jules, played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore respectively, tackle the never-ending challenge that is marriage—their own is in a bit of a slump.

Mia Wasikowska is Nic and Jules’ daughter Joni who is innocently entering adulthood and about to leave the nest for college—you really feel she is at the beginning of something. Their son Laser, played by Josh Hutcherson, doesn’t know himself too well yet—which can only be made more difficult, given his name—and is spending his time hanging out with massive douche bags.

There are a few main story lines offered, which can be a bit confusing at times. Some viewers might ask themselves what exactly this film is about—marriage, kids, Paul or something else. In the end, it will take you somewhere you may or may not have been expecting, while leaving some story lines with no conclusion.

Beyond the obvious stories initially presented, what this film really is about is family—the family that Jules and Nic have created and nurtured, the trials and challenges they face as their lives change and enter new territory. Despite what may be an unconventional family to some, this one is deeply traditional and faces traditional problems.

With this family we find that they have their faults. The kids realize that their parents aren’t flawless, and the parents endure their children living through their mistakes.

If you thought of hitting up this movie for a date night, you were both right and wrong. It is a good movie for your significant other, but it isn’t as much of a feel-good flick as most romantic comedies provide. The Kids Are All Right may prevail more as being a mature family movie for adult audiences with an open mind.

The Kids are All Right
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3.5 out of 5 stars