Author Topic: L.Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right: The movie we've been waiting for all year  (Read 8893 times)

Offline Front-Ranger

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I got the chance to see this today!! Throughout much of the middle, I was smiling, and that's what I needed. Mark Ruffalo was quite a good comedian and very likeable. He actually redeemed himself to me in this movie. At its heart, I found the movie to be about that time when you have to say goodbye to your children. Something I could really identify with. When my own daughter went off to college, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I never thought that "empty nest syndrome" was anything to pay attention to. But, it is a real phenomenon. I reacted much like Nic in the movie. And, like Jules too! I did everything stupid that both of them did! So, I can definitely relate. The movie was not as laugh-out-loud funny as I thought it would be, but it was authentic. At heart, Jules and Nic are much like any other married couple, but with California-style newspeak thrown in. A special treat was Annette Bening singing Joni Mitchell...awesome!!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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I am so looking forward to seeing this. I'm not expecting LOL-funny, but then I wasn't expecting an exploration of empty-nest syndrome, either. Toy Story 3 was already that, for me! And I've been dreading ENS for, well, 15 years now, and I still have three or four years to go!

Anyway, thanks for the report. I will make it an even higher priority than it already was.


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I also LOOOOVED the outburst Bening's character gave at dinner when their guests went on a little too long about how hooked they were on acia berry (spelling?) drinks. The passion of her vitriol on the subject of foodies, accompanied by oh-so-precious hand gestures was right on target, LOL! If I'd had four of those balloon-sized goblets of red wine like her character did, I'd burst out with such a rant too, but maybe not on foodies, such I'm a bit of a foodie myself. Her tirade was a thinly-disguised attack on the sperm donor father played by Mark Ruffalo, who was a restauranteur, and her partner, who was just starting a landscaping business and needed all the moral support she could get. (hope I haven't included anything too spoilish here)
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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I wish we'd get some bad weather here, so I could take the time to go see this!


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It's summer in Minnesota. It's hot, muggy, and there are mosquitoes. Also, I heard that there might be flash floods in parts of MN. GO!!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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Summer is as good as it gets in Minnesota. It's been sunny, highs in the 80s, and the mosquitoes don't come out until after sunset. I've been biking, walking the dog and sitting out on the patio. But this morning I woke up to rain, so maybe today's the day!


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THere were 3 or 4 people who expressed interest in seeing this movie...I wonder if any of you have seen it yet? I like to wait until most have seen it before talking about possible spoilers.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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I saw it last week and enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for reminding me to check in here.

One interesting thing: Watching it, I couldn't help but think back on all those homophobic obnoxious IMDb posters who would say things like "if this were a movie about a straight couple, it never would have received the attention/awards/praise/etc." To which the answer is obviously, duh, if this were a movie about a straight couple, it wouldn't have even been a movie, because the whole plot rests on the fact that Jack and Ennis were NOT straight.

TKAAR is kind of the opposite. If Jules and Nic were a straight couple, the movie would be almost exactly the same. Still a nice, thoughtful, interesting film. Not that I wished it would be, of course. I loved that their sexual orientation was no more than maybe half a degree away from being a total non-issue.


Offline Front-Ranger

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Yes, it was great that the son's last words in the movie, "I think you guys should stay together. . . . cause you're too old" could have worked for any couple!!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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Yes, it was great that the son's last words in the movie, "I think you guys should stay together. . . . cause you're too old" could have worked for any couple!!

Except the ones who are too young!  ;D