The Kids Are Alright

Good, but with too much Ben Affleck wafting through, explaining that human sexuality is fluid and that Boston is a tough town. Note the male kid in the poster above who's the only one to call bull-shit on the sugary look of the thing; heck, he almost out-Ruffalos Ruffalo. Oh, and another irksome habit best avoided: if you're going to make a nuanced film about the complexities of human relationships, abstain from characters who like pissing on dogs. That kind of lapse of judgement makes it hard to trust the director, who is suffering already for not trusting you, leading inevitably to the cold war. So with terrific material and great acting, leave the sit-com structures to whatever's showing on NBC. But I liked it, I promise. B

Koko: I don't have much to add. It's an odd feeling, enjoying a movie more than you like it. On one hand, the entire cast, as Slothrop points out, delivers, and despite its fairly manic pace the story earns its sober moments. Unfortunately, it's not as careful with its humor, which, although generally winsome, rarely feels legit. As an art, comedy is conservative; it has to be. But risk and innovation make good comedy great, and in order for a clever line, a wry look, or a situational blunder to do more than entertain us, it needs to make us feel unfamiliar, even if just for a moment. Confused into new sensations and new meanings, we may even feel moved, and we'll remember the line, look, or blunder as significant, not just funny. Too often The Kids are All Right contents itself with the sure laugh, the predictable arc, the stock character, a cynical, corporate strategy that, given the high quality of writing, is regrettable and out of place in an otherwise sound product. Slothrop is right to accuse the director of faithlessness. Part of the movie's aversion to risk stems from its lack of trust in its materials and in the audience. As commentary on a little discussed and much neglected topic, The Kids, with all its intelligence and charm, deserves more than an assurance not to be disliked; its predilection for safety and spectacle exposes the crew's concern for acceptance. A really exceptional movie would have risked more, been more disagreeable, made harder choices. It could have been another You Can Count on Me. But it's just The Kids are All Right.

A final word, though, about Ruffalo's character, and the movie's decision not to resolve his place in the family. That was a gutsy, necessary move. The whole movie should have been like that. Not just the end. B