The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life.

Director:

Lisa Cholodenko

Writers:

Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg

Stars:

Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 123 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Jules
Annette Bening	...	Nic
Mark Ruffalo	...	Paul
Mia Wasikowska	...	Joni
Josh Hutcherson	...	Laser
Yaya DaCosta	...	Tanya (as Yaya Dacosta)
Kunal Sharma	...	Jai
Eddie Hassell	...	Clay
Zosia Mamet	...	Sasha
Joaquín Garrido	...	Luis
Rebecca Lawrence Levy	...	Brooke (as Rebecca Lawrence)
Lisa Eisner	...	Stella
Eric Eisner	...	Joel
Sasha Spielberg	...	Waify Girl
James MacDonald	...	Clay's Dad (as James Macdonald)

Storyline

Nic and Jules are in a long term, committed, loving but by no means perfect same-sex relationship. Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her "nine to five" life, sometimes trying to start a business - always unsuccessfully - or being the stay-at-home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni (conceived by Nic) and Laser (by Jules). Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Shortly after Joni's eighteenth birthday and shortly before she plans to leave the house and head off to college, Laser, only fifteen and underage to do so, pleads with her to try and contact their sperm donor father. Somewhat reluctantly, she does. He is late ...

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | pantyhose | lesbian | f rated | sex scene | 

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Taglines:

Nic and Jules had the perfect family, until they met the man who made it all possible.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los niños están bien

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$491,971, 11 July 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$20,811,365

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,705,850

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Gilbert Films, Saint Aire Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the film is based upon co-Writer and Director Lisa Cholodenko's relationship with her partner Wendy, who both had a son by a sperm donor. Cholodenko dedicated the film to them.

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Goofs

When Jules and Paul are in Paul's garden for the first time, crew members and equipment are reflected in their sunglasses.

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Quotes

Jules: What do you get in your relationship with Clay?
Laser: Whadda you... whadda you mean "get?"
Nic: Well, we just feel like he's a little untended.
Jules: Do you think he's the kind of person who's gonna help you grow?

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Crazy Credits

For Wendy and Calder.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Josh Hutcherson/Jennifer Carpenter/Michael Rezendes & Sacha Pfeiffer/Emily Armstrong (2015)

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Soundtracks

Slippin
Written by Robert Braun and Coco Karshej
Performed by Quadron
Courtesy of Plug Research Records
By arrangement with Visions From The Roof

User Reviews

Mothers

It's unavoidable to compare. We're at the beginning of the world our grandchildren are going to take for granted. But now, we compare and realize that family is by choice or design a place, a state of mind, in which love does or must flourish. Beautifully told with a sensational performance by Annette Bening. Without preaching or candy coating the story we realize that the future has a chance. Two women, one sperm donor and two children. Why not? We see the results on the children's faces. Mia Wasikowska is the daughter. Smart, compassionate, mature beyond her years. Josh Hutcherson is the son and, although he is the least developed character, I loved him, with his lopsided smile and his healthy curiosity. Mark Ruffalo, wonderful, showing us, as the sperm donor, another face of a character he has a monopoly in, the lovable loser. He is terrific! Julianne Moore is still an actress I find very hard to surrender to. Her acting is so much upfront that it takes you out of the truth she's trying to convey. However I loved the film and I only hope Hillary Swank is not nominated next year so Annette Bening finally gets what she so richly deserves.