An Organic Garden Of The Mind
...I like to think of myself of having a semi-wide palette. With music, I kind of started with metal and branched out from there to punk, hardcore, indie, jazz, prog rock and 70's soul. Through being vegetarian and vegan during the 1990's, I was turned onto Mediterranean and Indian food that I likely may have skipped over without. So when it comes to movies, the blog being what it is becoming, it looks like I delve deep into the big summer action blockbuster and sci-fi genres. Which I do, but I also and always have been a fan of small, independent films with a slower pace that builds to a crescendo or comedies that are less overt and more thoughtful.
When The Kids Are Alright, there seemed to be a lot of buzz around it being one of those "hip" and "quirky" films of that moment. Though I'm sure it did not exactly set the box office on fire, it had some celebrity names announcing its greatness. For me, it was Patton Oswalt either blogging about it or talking about it on a podcast that initially had me hearing of it being a must see. When you look at the cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, it seemed like a movie you would set aside time to view.
On the surface, The Kids Are Alright appears to be a movie about kids growing up in a household with same-sex parents. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are a pair of moms that seem to have long-term loving relationship despite the differing personality quirks. Annette Bening is the responsible breadwinner and disciplinarian and Julianne Moore is the free-spirit post-hippie with no solid direction career-wise. The brother and sister combo have separate struggles between preparing to leave for college and wanting to find their biological father so within a short time, the parental relationship becomes mere window dressing.
The kids find their biological donor father in the form of Mark Ruffalo's character, also kind of a post-hippie himself albeit with a solid business in his stead. As they come to know him, the two mom's become equally concerned and curious to know who their kids are spending so much time with. As Mark Ruffalo's character becomes sort of the Fifth Beatle to the family, weird dynamics begin to form between each person in the unit and hijinks ensue, though not in a slapstick manner.
In my mind, The Kids Are Alright are really not so much about the kids themselves, but the different ways the adults in question are dealing with the changes taking place. As it pertains to the oldest daughter, each adult is wrestling with the big change of her preparing to move away for college and the emptiness each will feel with that void. The son, who initially prompted bring the father into the picture, is sort of the catalyst for the added wrench being thrown into the mix in the form of Mark Ruffalo. As for Mark Ruffalo, he ends up being a fairly big wrench in more ways than one. In essence, the film might also have been called The Parents Are Not Doing So Well.
Billed as a comedic drama, The Kids Are Alright is a little short on actual laughs. There are a few sprinkled here and there, but nothing that will send anyone into a snitter. The overall tone felt subdued, at times even having the air of watching a weird made-for-TV family drama. It was one of those films that not many people will regret having watched, but may not elicit many repeat viewings. You might just say that The Kids Are Alright is as the kids themselves.
When The Kids Are Alright, there seemed to be a lot of buzz around it being one of those "hip" and "quirky" films of that moment. Though I'm sure it did not exactly set the box office on fire, it had some celebrity names announcing its greatness. For me, it was Patton Oswalt either blogging about it or talking about it on a podcast that initially had me hearing of it being a must see. When you look at the cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, it seemed like a movie you would set aside time to view.
On the surface, The Kids Are Alright appears to be a movie about kids growing up in a household with same-sex parents. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are a pair of moms that seem to have long-term loving relationship despite the differing personality quirks. Annette Bening is the responsible breadwinner and disciplinarian and Julianne Moore is the free-spirit post-hippie with no solid direction career-wise. The brother and sister combo have separate struggles between preparing to leave for college and wanting to find their biological father so within a short time, the parental relationship becomes mere window dressing.
The kids find their biological donor father in the form of Mark Ruffalo's character, also kind of a post-hippie himself albeit with a solid business in his stead. As they come to know him, the two mom's become equally concerned and curious to know who their kids are spending so much time with. As Mark Ruffalo's character becomes sort of the Fifth Beatle to the family, weird dynamics begin to form between each person in the unit and hijinks ensue, though not in a slapstick manner.
In my mind, The Kids Are Alright are really not so much about the kids themselves, but the different ways the adults in question are dealing with the changes taking place. As it pertains to the oldest daughter, each adult is wrestling with the big change of her preparing to move away for college and the emptiness each will feel with that void. The son, who initially prompted bring the father into the picture, is sort of the catalyst for the added wrench being thrown into the mix in the form of Mark Ruffalo. As for Mark Ruffalo, he ends up being a fairly big wrench in more ways than one. In essence, the film might also have been called The Parents Are Not Doing So Well.
Billed as a comedic drama, The Kids Are Alright is a little short on actual laughs. There are a few sprinkled here and there, but nothing that will send anyone into a snitter. The overall tone felt subdued, at times even having the air of watching a weird made-for-TV family drama. It was one of those films that not many people will regret having watched, but may not elicit many repeat viewings. You might just say that The Kids Are Alright is as the kids themselves.
Comments
Post a Comment