The Kids Are All Right, opening Friday at the County and Ambler Theaters, is already creating quite a bit of noise. It is doing record numbers in its limited release and looks poised to be one of the highlights of 2010′s film slate. But the wildest news is that it is already generating some Oscar buzz for Julianne Moore. While a little too soon to be shoving the film into the Academy’s spotlight, she is excited for the notice. “It’s always nice to get interest in a film,” says Moore. “It is a little early for all of that. But it’s super-flattering!”
Kids tells the touching, but funny story of a lesbian couple, Annette Bening and Moore, whose two adolescent children track down their sperm donor, played by Mark Ruffalo. Once on the scene, the household dynamics quickly become scrambled and confused as the film toys with the notion of the modern family.
The beauty of the film lies in how real the characters feel, and Moore certainly inhabits the role perfectly. She has said that her experience as a wife and mother made it easy and natural, but that there was honesty and realism at the core of director Lisa Cholondenko’s work.
Moore connected deeply with the cast and devoted herself whole-heartedly to the project for four-and-a-half years. Her devotion to the script and flawless acting makes Kids the perfect summer movie. Its humor and honesty stand out among the standard big budget, effect-laden summer films. Moore sums up the buzz the film has garnered nicely: ”I think it’s the kind of movie you want to see in the summer. This is a movie where we can laugh at ourselves—our families, our marriages, our children—and really relate to what’s on screen.”
