PORTRAIT OF A PROACTIVE AMERICAN FAMILY
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, a passionate dissection of contemporary family dynamics by Lisa Cholodenko.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Lisa Cholodenko’s third feature centres around the marriage of Nic and Jules, a Los Angeles-based lesbian couple who raise a teenage daughter and son. The idyll of their domestic life gets disturbed when the kids decide to meet their biological father, the mothers’ sperm donor. They do it secretly in order not to hurt mom and mom’s feelings, but not much time passes by before their father Paul charms his way into the family. Four is a family, but five is a crowd, and the odd one out has to be determined.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT shows the prototype of what a 21st century family may look like. The film does not question the functionality of a same-sex marriage, but takes it for granted. Nic and Jules’ marriage is presented like any other, with its usual ups and downs, and Cholodenko makes a point of testing it with problems generally perceived as typical only of heterosexual unions. The couple struggles with parenting, trust, fidelity, professional success or lack thereof and its effect on the relationship.
Slick production with predictable plot lines packed in a recognizable format of family drama and romantic comedy serve the purpose of acquainting the wider American audience with the possibility of functional gay marriages. With its accessibility, the film gets the message through to a potentially prejudiced average Joe without being condescending. However unlikely this may seem, Joe will be able to identify with a lesbian, as he will surely sympathize with Nic’s desire to keep her family in firm control and her wife tucked away in the kitchen.
We do not get the sense that Cholodenko spares us any sexual details that the sensitive types may find unpleasant, but the film is still very non-confrontational and tiptoes around any potentially flammable gender issues. The director takes an occasional benevolent jab at the trendy feminist perception of life where even buying a truck gets interpreted as a “proactive” move, but she never judges the validity of her characters’ choices.
The agenda does not get in the way of storytelling, nor does it make the characters appear contrived. Carried by the strength of the star performances of Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, the film beguiles with the humanity of the characters and wonderful, light-hearted humour that prevents it from turning into a melodramatic sap. As for the people who find the film offensive, or a result of having nothing more important to say, they will have to get used to it or keep their eyes firmly closed, because we can expect films with a similar intent and more provocation to be shown everywhere quite soon.
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