The Kids are All Right is a quirky and sarcastic comedy that is about as ironic as they can get. It features a family with two mothers who end up involving the sperm donor in their lives. It was a very basic plot and only had one surprising feature. The most interesting elements of the movie are the plot/story itself, the acting, the themes, and how the director used background noises. These were not the only interesting parts of the movie but were the ones that caught my attention the most. If you are looking for a heart-racing thriller, or a sappy romantic drama then this movie is not for you.
The film type of this movie is a Hollywood film and I give the director kudos for trying to go the “risky” route of a same-sex marriage and the oh-so scandalous sexual happenings. But, he did surprise me and let me down when it came to the plot, it was a great basis but the way it was carried out was by all means predictable. If you guessed what was going to happen in the next scene there was a 90% chance that you were right. The mise-en-scene of the movie tricked me, it gets you thinking that the rest of the movie was going to be as daring and unexpected but unfortunately it was not. In the very beginning of the movie you are immediately exposed to a young man doing cocaine with his friend, a young girl being ridiculed for not being sexually active, and two women engaging in oral sex. It all hits you so strikingly that it seems to set the precedent for the rest of the movie.
The acting however, was remarkable. The mother that played the “uptight” doctor, Nic, in this film also played the “uptight” perfect real estate agent in the film “American Beauty”. I thought that this was very interesting that they were two totally different movies but Annette Bening played the same kind of character. I guess she has that perfectionist, controlling mother act down to a T. Then the wife Jules, Julianne Moore, and the children in this film did a nice job of playing their roles also, but I believe the most in-character actors were Bening and Moore. When they were in the room together you could feel the electricity between the two of them. They really dove into their characters and into the movie’s plot. Anyone who has seen the movie knows what I am talking about.
The choices that the director made when it came to the camera work, use of color schemes, and music were very interesting. The camera angles were all pretty head on consistently through the movie. The colors were very bright uplifting when the story was taking a happy turn and things were gloomy and sad when there was a down part of the story. The use of plants could be considered a sort of motif, when the plants were dead and brittle the story was at a low point and when the plants were lush it was a happy part of the movie. It was the same story with the music, the music corresponded with the attitude of the movie. The song
Overall I would rate the movie a C or B- if I was feeling generous. It had amazing potential but lacked the WOW factor for me. It felt predictable and the writer did not even attempt to do anything interesting with the camera work or music. It all felt bland and like a waste of perfect material. I would not advise you pay to see this movie in theaters but definitely watch it on Netflix or on DVD.
The film type of this movie is a Hollywood film and I give the director kudos for trying to go the “risky” route of a same-sex marriage and the oh-so scandalous sexual happenings. But, he did surprise me and let me down when it came to the plot, it was a great basis but the way it was carried out was by all means predictable. If you guessed what was going to happen in the next scene there was a 90% chance that you were right. The mise-en-scene of the movie tricked me, it gets you thinking that the rest of the movie was going to be as daring and unexpected but unfortunately it was not. In the very beginning of the movie you are immediately exposed to a young man doing cocaine with his friend, a young girl being ridiculed for not being sexually active, and two women engaging in oral sex. It all hits you so strikingly that it seems to set the precedent for the rest of the movie.
The acting however, was remarkable. The mother that played the “uptight” doctor, Nic, in this film also played the “uptight” perfect real estate agent in the film “American Beauty”. I thought that this was very interesting that they were two totally different movies but Annette Bening played the same kind of character. I guess she has that perfectionist, controlling mother act down to a T. Then the wife Jules, Julianne Moore, and the children in this film did a nice job of playing their roles also, but I believe the most in-character actors were Bening and Moore. When they were in the room together you could feel the electricity between the two of them. They really dove into their characters and into the movie’s plot. Anyone who has seen the movie knows what I am talking about.
The choices that the director made when it came to the camera work, use of color schemes, and music were very interesting. The camera angles were all pretty head on consistently through the movie. The colors were very bright uplifting when the story was taking a happy turn and things were gloomy and sad when there was a down part of the story. The use of plants could be considered a sort of motif, when the plants were dead and brittle the story was at a low point and when the plants were lush it was a happy part of the movie. It was the same story with the music, the music corresponded with the attitude of the movie. The song
Overall I would rate the movie a C or B- if I was feeling generous. It had amazing potential but lacked the WOW factor for me. It felt predictable and the writer did not even attempt to do anything interesting with the camera work or music. It all felt bland and like a waste of perfect material. I would not advise you pay to see this movie in theaters but definitely watch it on Netflix or on DVD.