The Kids Are Alright

A family is a family.

More than anything else, that's what I got from this film.

So...I liked this movie. As its trailers revealed, Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are lesbian wives whose children find their sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo) and hijinx ensue. Well, not exactly hijinx, but major complications. Outside of the sperm-donor bit, it is the paradoxically simple story of the complexities of being a family. What makes it so good? I see it as three elements: dead-on writing, direction by Lisa Cholodenko and tight, skillful acting giving us what I love in film: tight close-ups in which the audience is rewarded if they pay very close attention to tiny, tiny nuances in expression, eyes, body language. I think this is Mark Ruffalo's finest performance yet. His laid-back, affable, hippie style might seem easy to play; I doubt it.

We all know these actors so well, and yet, they are SO good that I actually felt the chemistry and believed them as characters. The dialogue is strikingly authentic.

This film leaves one thinking about multiples themes:
• It asks us to consider the sliding scale of one's sexual orientation (a theme I was first intrigued by in Kiss of the Spider Woman)
• It presents a modern day parable for modern day marriages and families.
• It accurately and fairly (I believe) portrays the gay relationship for being as darned "normal" as it usually is.
• It reaffirms the intelligence, resilience, and commitment of our children and reminds how important the stability of the family unit is to them.

This movie is one of this year's nominees for Oscar's Best Picture. I know, I know, that by the Academy now nominating 10 films instead of 5, it boosts box office attendance. Hence, this film's inclusion, I suspect. I really, really liked it. But Best Picture? Naw. But worth seeing (now on DVD).

*Last note: I cannot believe Julianne Moore is 50! Damn.