THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use.
1 hr 44 min Directed by Lisa Cholodenko (USA) In English Comedy
SHOWTIMES
FRI 5:30 8:00
SAT *3:00 5:30 8:00
SUN *3:00 5:30
MON No Showing
TUES 7:30
WEDS 7:30
THURS *2:00 7:00
*Matinee Pricing!
It’s all about family.
The most talked-about movie at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and the winner of the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, The Kids Are All Right is directed by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon) from an original screenplay that she wrote with Stuart Blumberg (Keeping the Faith). The movie combines comedic surprise with poignant emotional truth in a funny, vibrant, and richly drawn portrait of a modern family.
Nic and Jules (three-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening and four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore) are married and share a cozy suburban Southern California home with their teenage children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson). Nic and Jules – or, when referred to jointly by Joni, “Moms” – gave birth to and raised their children, and built a family life for the four of them. As Joni prepares to leave for college, 15-year-old Laser presses her for a big favor. He wants Joni, now 18, to help him find their biological father; the two teenagers were conceived by donor insemination.
Against her better judgment, Joni honors her brother’s request and manages to make contact with “bio-dad” Paul (Mark Ruffalo), an easygoing restaurateur. The kids find themselves drawn to the confirmed bachelor’s footloose style – especially in contrast to Nic, a principled doctor who has long established their house rules. Jules, who has been looking to start a new career in landscaping, also strikes up a rapport with Paul. As Paul comes into the lives of the forthright four, an unexpected new chapter begins for them as family ties are defined, re-defined, and then re-re-defined.
****: " This warm, funny, sexy, smart movie erases the boundaries between specialized ''gay content'' and universal ''family content'' with such sneaky authority."
—Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
****:" The self-satire of The Kids Are All Right is so knowing, so rich, so hilarious, so damn healthy that it blows all thoughts of degeneracy out of your head." —David Edelstein, New York Magazine
****:" Witty, urbane and thoroughly entertaining." —Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
****:" "All right" doesn't begin to describe it. The Kids Are All Right is wonderful. Here is a film that respects and enjoys all of its characters, the give-and-take and recklessness and wisdom of any functioning family unit, conventional or un-." —Michael Philips, Chicago Tribune
****:" Though The Kids Are All Right sometimes smacks of political correctness, Cholodenko succeeds brilliantly in making her little clan seem completely run-of-the-mill." —J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
****:" Every scene has its highlights, from amusing observations about sex to poignant truths about parenting and partnerships. But what you'll remember most is the exquisitely lovely final scene, in which Cholodenko reminds us that all we need is a single moment of perfection -in a family, or even in a film - to believe that somehow, things will always be all right." —Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
****:" A thrillingly funny and casually profound film." —Joe Morgenstern, Wall St. Journal
****:" It is outrageously funny without ever exaggerating for comic effect, and heartbreaking with only minimal melodramatic embellishment." —A.O. Scott, New York Times
****:" Like her (Cholodenko) other movies, this one has vivid characters and strong performances and flows like a slice of life set in an appealing, interesting world. But this one also has a good story and, if you're paying attention, a distinct point of view." —Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
****:" Movies like The Kids Are All Right -- beautifully written, impeccably played, funny and randy and true -- don’t come along very often." —Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"The Kids Are All Right," from Lisa Cholodenko, the director of “High Art” and “Laurel Canyon,” returned to Sundance with her best work yet. Pitched between drama and comedy...Ms. Cholodenko has created a generous, nearly note-perfect portrait of a modern family that is, as its title suggests, political and insistently independent. —Manohla Dargis, New York Times
|
