Sundance 2010 has been waiting for a breakout hit, and one that didn’t have a distributor. It finally happened at 8:30 on Monday night at the Library Center theater, which was packed for a “Special Surprise” screening of Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right.”
As festival director John Cooper said before the film started, “If anything happens to the people in this room, there goes the independent film world.”
Indeed, everyone was there, and now everyone is fighting over who will release Cholodenko’s brilliant “alternative” family comedy starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and Mark Ruffalo. Like Nicole Holofcener’s “Please Give,” Cholodenko’s film is her best yet, a fully formed, three act knockout that crosses all its t’s, dots all its i’s, and gives a multi-dimensional rendering to its characters. Fox Searchlight, Focus, Weinstein Company, SPC, you name it, they all want it.
“The Kids Are All Right” is about a long-term lesbian couple (Moore and Bening), their kids (top notch newcomers Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), and the anonymous sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) who stirs up a lot of trouble in their lives. These five actors are so good together in this film I guarantee you they will win Best Ensemble awards in 2011.
Why the film works is easy: the charactes are totally accesible and sympathetic. Even as they make mistakes, they’re very human. And the story is very contemporary: this is what the modern family is like in 2010. What seems unconventional is actually old fashioned in every respect. And it’s also a very sexy movie, with Moore and Ruffalo’s romps keeping “The Kids” in R rated territory.
Now the question is, will “The Kids Are All Right” force the mostly tepid buyers here into action? The film cost about $4 million to produce. In the old days — like 2006, 2007 — a bidding war would ensue and record sales might be recorded. But it’s a different world now. We’ll see what happens.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:38 am
It may be your idea of a modern family, but it still isn’t typical.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Not sure what a typical family is – there are those who love, others which despite good intentions do not have time for each other except at Thanksgiving, and darker others hallmarked by cruelty, betrayals, secrets and lies. Suspect there are more families like the Simpsons, flawed but loving, than the Waltons. The family model is up in the air right now, and will probably land in a thousand different shapes. Diversity not stereotype has always been the hidden wellspring of our country. As this film suggests.
January 31st, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Please…it is not typical 2010 family! Let’s be real. And cut out the bullshit!
February 11th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Hey Little Sally Simpson and Ima: I don’t know where you live but where I come from the majority of families in my community are represented perfectly by this movie. Why don’t you two ‘get real’ and ‘cut out the bullshit’: just because someone doesn’t look just like you do doesn’t mean that they’re any less ‘typical’ than you might consider yourselves to be.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:33 am
My partner and I drove for an hour and took a train to get to see this movie. We loved it. The theater was packed, mostly “straight” groups. It was very well done, very typical of things that go on in families across the country whether straight or gay. I loved the fact that the ladies looked “real” and not “softened” to appeal to the masses. Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are beautiful, funny and real. Thank you for this most excellent film.
Jacqueline
July 13th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
My partner and I drove for an hour and took a train to get to see this movie. We loved it. The theater was packed, mostly “straight” groups. It was very well done, very typical of things that go on in families across the country whether straight or gay. I loved the fact that the ladies looked “real” and not “softened” to appeal to the masses. Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are beautiful, funny and real. Thank you for this most excellent film.
Jacqueline