The Kids Are All Right (2010)
85%RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 4 Oscars
29 wins & 133 nominations total
Worthwhile as both a well-acted ensemble piece and as a smart, warm statement on family values, The Kids Are All Right is remarkable
The Kids Are All Right” is like a warm hug from your favorite aunt, if your favorite aunt was a well-written story with incredible female characters. The performances are spot-on and the film balances humor and heart in all the right places. It’s the kind of movie that makes you wish there were more like it, but also makes you grateful for the gem that it is. Plus, who doesn’t love a good Kudos with chocolate chips?
Production Company(ies)
Animal Kingdom, Traction Media,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 44m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 2010 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 16, 2010
Genre(s)
Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Kunal Sharma, directed by Lisa Cholodenko, written by Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg, LGBTQ+, family values, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Julie and Brandy, Candice Frederick, Rene Rodriguez, Nick Schager, Sophie Mayer, David Sexton, Don Shanahan, Federico Furzan, Brian D Johnson, Michael Compton, R rating, nudity, language, strong sexual content, teen drug and alcohol use, produced by Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Worldwide gross: $34,758,951
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $47,250,849
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,359
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,152,764
US/Canada gross: $20,811,365
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $28,290,689
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,292
US/Canada opening weekend: $491,971
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $668,779
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,334
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $4,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,437,546
Production budget ranking: 1,862
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,928,119
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $38,885,185
ROI to date (est.): 465%
ROI ranking: 275
Annette Bening – Nic
Mark Ruffalo – Paul
Mia Wasikowska – Joni
Josh Hutcherson – Laser
Kunal Sharma – Jai
Director – Lisa Cholodenko
Producers – Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Writers – Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
Director(s)
Lisa Cholodenko
Writer(s)
Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
Producer(s)
Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Jordan Horowitz, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
29 wins & 133 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (226) | Top Critics (66) | Fresh (208) | Rotten (18)
Say what you will about Lisa Cholodenko, but she and co-writer Stuart Blumberg deserve some major Kudos (the good kind with the chocolate chips) for writing these incredible female characters.
June 9, 2021
Julie and Brandy
Autostraddle
TOP CRITIC
Together the performances mark the perfect recipe in a beautifully written story is both funny in the most surprising parts and touching when it needs to be.
September 9, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
Its emotional pull remains consistent to the end.
January 31, 2011 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
A long-form sitcom overly pleased with its own progressiveness.
November 26, 2010 | Rating: C-
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
The film joyfully allows us to embrace, rather than escape, the wonderful, awkward embarrassment of familial love.
November 2, 2010
Sophie Mayer
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
This is a much better made, more persuasive film than The Switch or The Back-Up Plan but just as much about wish fulfilment, and no more honest about conflicts that can leave the kids far from all right.
October 29, 2010
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
“The Kids Are All Right” has no soapboxes, agendas, arguments, stereotypes, or side-choosing politics. It just tells a story of what the politicians forget is at the underlying heart of the issue: family and love.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Don Shanahan
Every Movie Has a Lesson
It is a wonderful example of what happens when you blend a near perfect cast with stellar direction and a story worth telling.
September 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
I can’t understand the value of such a movie. It’s definitely bland and worthless. [Full review in Spanish].
June 2, 2020 | Rating: 1.5/4
Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
This is the kind of movie that had me wishing, moments after I’d left the theatre, that there were more movies like it-sly, sexy grown-up dramas driven by characters who are as fallible as they are likable.
July 24, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
I’m not sure there are many recent releases that understand and explore the family dynamic better than “Kids.” That alone makes the film worth a look.
May 9, 2019 | Rating: B
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko gives so much depth and realism to this modern-day-family dramedy, you can feel the love pouring out of her for each one of these unconventionally authentic characters.
December 31, 2018 | Rating: A-
Kiko Martinez
San Antonio Current…
Plot
Nic and Jules are in a long term, committed, loving but by no means perfect same-sex relationship. Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her “nine to five” life, sometimes trying to start a business – always unsuccessfully – or being the stay-at-home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni (conceived by Nic) and Laser (by Jules). Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Shortly after Joni’s eighteenth birthday and shortly before she plans to leave the house and head off to college, Laser, only fifteen and underage to do so, pleads with her to try and contact their sperm donor father. Somewhat reluctantly, she does. He is late thirty-something Paul, a co-op farmer and restaurateur. Despite his seemingly successful businesses, Paul has always shirked responsibility, most specifically in his personal life. After Joni and Laser meet with Paul, Nic and Jules learn what their children have done and, although they don’t want Paul infiltrating their lives, want to meet him – especially as Joni and Laser seem to want to maintain some sort of relationship with him. As Paul’s relationship with the entire family grows (which includes his hiring Jules to design and construct his backyard), they have an effect on what he wants in life. In turn, he affects their family dynamic as well as each person’s relationships outside of it.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film in the Fresh Kernels database.
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