Sincerely, MAB

What better way to spend a balmy summer evening by myself than to take in a new movie that is both quirky and off-the-beaten path, yet entirely comforting and familiar at the same time?

Summary:
Nic and Jules (Annette Benning and Julianne Moore, respectively), lesbian mothers extraordinaire, have managed to sidestep most parenting landmines, raising two perfectly well-behaved and well-adjusted kids. But when their youngest son, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) curious about his biological father, asks his newly eighteen sister, Joni (Mia Wasikowska), to call the sperm bank where they were "sourced", the family's bonds and relationships are tried and tested in ways no one could predict. (Rated 18A/R)

Release Date: July 9, 2010 (Toronto Only, no info on general release)

Trailer:

Liked:

Families are the same, no matter how different.
The first thing that struck me is the portrayal of family life. While having two moms could pose a number of different challenges, it was amazing just how familiar the family life felt. It doesn't matter if you have one mom, two moms, a red mom or a blue mom, all families face the same challenges and awkwardness. Asking your son if he's gay and involved with a local bully is as awkard for lesbian moms as it is for any other family. The portrayal of the family as quirky but ultimately just like everyone else's family is both candid and refreshing, especially for movie makers who often like to sensationalize what are really rather loving, if a bit mundane, family relationships.

The Leading Ladies
Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are positively amazing in this. I can't think of two more wonderful women to have as my lesbian mothers. Their relationship appears perfect on the surface but the veneer quickly rubs off to show an underlayer of angst and issues that any therapist would be salivating for. But underneath all of that lies a rock-solid core of love and respect for each other. When inviting Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the kids' biological father over for lunch, Moore remarks to benning, "Maybe you should go easy on the wine. It is day time, after all", to which Benning replies, without a pause, "Okay, and maybe you could lay off the micromanaging". These two lovely leading ladies had me chortling the whole time, with a relationship and chemistry that seemed both sincere and passionate, despite all the difficulties.

The Kids Are All Right
Mia Wasikowska does a great job as your typical type-A daughter who wants nothing more than to please her parents, but resents them when they try to clamp down on her behaviour despite the fact that she's 18. Josh Hutcherson's performance as the oddly-named Laser, is really great. He has really come into his own since The Bridge to Terabithia. He's been in a number of performances before that, but I think he's really starting to mature as an actor, and I can only hope he manages to successfully bridge the gap between child and adult actor, because Hutcherson has lots of potential. Overall, the casting for this film was spot on, with these two kids really highlighting the talent.

Serious Farce
It's an inevitable truth that life is messy, challenging and awkward. I really enjoyed this story and I really bought in to the family, never once questioning their existence, leading me to believe that the writers had penned a credible story about a credible family, and I think everyone in the audience was enriched by the experience. This was a serious story couched in the humour that pervades everyday life. It is a story that meandered through the garden of life, but it's casual pace was precisely what this movie required.

Disliked:

Crises for Crises Sake
I had a lot of trouble with the main crisis in this story. Perhaps it was my expectations, but I felt like the main crisis was thrown in at the last minute, and it certainly was resolved at the very last minute. I'm really unhappy with how the final act of the film was both short and unsatisfying, in that the crisis was dismissed in one quick sixty second speech. I had expected the crisis to be a bit messier, and that that the resolution would have been slightly more ambiguous. It almost feels like the writers copped out at the last minute, opting instead to leave everyone with the warm fuzzies, instead of the sharp reality these kinds of situations usually engender. Had it been done adroitly, I really feel that the movie could have really pushed it over the top, leaving us with both the warm fuzzies and a glimpse into the harsh reality of family conflict and the impact it can have on everyone, from mom, to mom, to kids.

Rating:

See it in theatres. (ratings explanation)


Final Thoughts:

While the subject matter was never particularly challenging, it did raise some interesting questions about the dynamics of love in families. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the family, noting to myself on several occasions, how odd that a two-mom family was as awkward and challenging as a opposite-gendered-head-of-household family. Definitely a nice way to spend an evening with someone you love, pondering the dynamics of your own family and how you might react in their situation.

Disclosure: I was provided with a free pass by Alliance films to attend a special advanced screening of the movie.