What a loving family can do when The Kids are All Right.
LA Film Festival 2010 moves downtown, up in quality
By John Esther
After four years in Westwood, the 16th Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) is heading east to downtown Los Angeles where it will screen most of its 200 feature films, documentaries, shorts, and music videos from over 40 countries worldwide.
Unlike its primary competitor in Los Angeles, the AFI Film Festival (running November 4-11, 2010), LAFF is still running its ten-day course, June 17-27. While continuing to hold screenings in Hollywood and REDCAT (located downtown), some of the new LAFF venues are Regal Cinemas, the Grammy Museum, Nokia Plaza, the Orpheum Theatre, and L.A. Live.
Like in years past, especially for a festival run by the Independent Filmmaker Project -- the organization who runs the Independent Spirit Awards the same weekend as the Academy Awards -- LAFF still drags its feet through some horribly mainstream endeavors. For example, this year there is an "Evening with Sylvester Stallone" and a special screening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Yet despite these mainstream kowtows, LAFF 2010 offers what could be its strongest "indie" line up in the past 10 years. For starters, LAFF 2010 commences with a wonderful Opening Night Film, The Kids Are All Right.
Directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art; Laurel Canyon) and co-written by Stuart Blumberg (Keeping the Faith) this film's Los Angeles suburban family consists of a mom, Nic (Annette Bening), her wife, Jules (Julianne Moore), Nic’s biological daughter, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Jules’ biological son, Laser (Josh Hutcherson).
As 18-year-old Joni prepares to leave home for college, the 15-year-old Laser encourages her to reach out or their biological father, a sperm donor whose anonymity has remained intact.
Naturally “The Moms” are a bit apprehensive about another "parent" coming into their lives, but these cool moms are also a bit curious to see the man behind the semen.
Played with aplomb by Mark Ruffalo, donor-dad Paul is a free spirit dude riding his motorcycle, planting his organic garden and making it with beautiful women. While he has always cherished his freedom, the thought he may have children out there is powerfully attractive to a man whose joyful youth is slipping away.
As father and children get to know each other, one of the moms, feeling her own sense of lost youth, gets really close to Paul, promising to throw this family into the throes of uncertainty.
Easily writer-director Cholodenko's best film hitherto, The Kids Are All Right screenplay bursts with humor, love, pathos and integrity with Bening and Moore capitalizing and contributing their formidable talents further to their characters.
As the discussion of gay marriage becomes intensely more political, The Kids Are All Right stands as a personal contribution to the discussion. While Nic and Jules are more liberal, understanding and educated than the vast majority of homophobic, anti-intellectual Americans, it is hard to imagine how most parents of all walks, creed and deed will not sympathize and empathize with Jules and Nic while young kids embrace the these moms who actually talk to their kids – even if the Moms are not exactly effective some times.
Recommended.
(The Kids Are All Right screens June 17, 7:30 p.m., Regal Cinemas)
