Coming out this Thursday is a film which has gained a lot of praise and publicity for showing two women in a same sex relationship raising healthy children in a loving environment. The movie is "The Kids Are Alright" and stars the underrated Annette Benning (don't believe me, watch American Beauty then get back to me) and the always terrific Julianne Moore (same case, watch A Single Man) as two lesbian partners who have raised two healthy teenagers played by Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland which was a total bore) and Josh Hutcherson (who was amazing in Bridge to Terebithia trust me it's not what you think) who had them via a sperm doner. However, the funny thing about this story is that the two children set out to find out who the sperm doner is and the impact he is going to have on this family. So is this movie asking the question that children are always seeking out the missing parent even in a same sex couple? And can two people of the same-sex bring up healthy children without a member of the opposite sex? The movie is coming out in a time when this subject is current with many coutries still feeling that two people of the same sex in a loving environment can not provide the right support for children as a hetrosexual couple could. With this small little independant movie making a big impact in the box office stakes will it send out the right message and start the ball rolling for countries to start excepting same-sex couples? Only time will tell, but I can tell you I for one want to know how the director will tackle this subject, and really give a perspective on if the kids will be alright with two homosexual parents. "The Kids Are Alright" opens this Thursday in Australia.
I saw this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Mia's character is so cute: "Moms won't like that." and Annette and Julianne's characters seem to just be two people in love trying to raise their family, although at times it was very 'type a control freak vs free spirited cool parent'. Oh and Mark Ruffalo is a total babe, even if his character wasn't perfect. (But who is, right?)
ReplyDeleteI think the success of this was that it didn't try and shove the same sex-parenting agenda down the audience's throats. Although, I kind of had a couple of niggling issues with it, which I won't mention here because they're kind of spoilers.
Anyway, yeah, definitely a movie worth checking out. Aside from the script, it actually had great actors and directing.