The Kids Are Alright - Unconventional Family Drama

I have to admit that it took me awhile trying to get myself to watch Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are Alright."

Lesbian characters just don't interest me much, but the Oscar buzz behind this movie is strong, and I have to find out why. Now I know.

When Laser (Josh Hutcherson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska, who recently played "Alice" in that Johnny Depp movie "Alice in Wonderland") decide to meet their biological father - Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the "sperm donor" to their lesbian parents Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules' (Julianne Moore) artificial insemination procedures, the weak threads in the relationship start showing. But Jules' further makes matters worse when she inadvertently sleeps with Paul, while she's supervising the landscaping of his backyard.

Family, in any form, is a sacred institution guarded by devotion, loyalty and the instinct of protecting each member from extraneous forces that threaten to harm any member. This is what's uplifting about this dramedy. That despite the imperfections within a relationship, the family will find the bind that pulls them together.

Strong performances from Julianne Moore and Annette Benning who both got Best Actress nominations from Golden Globe, while Ruffalo gets Best Supporting Actor nod from the Screen Actor's Guild. The Film also bagged the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Fest. The bigger news is the Oscar nominations of Annette Benning (Lead Actress) and Mark Ruffalo (Supporting Actor). In the film, you wouldn't think of Benning as anything but a lesbian. Such a spot-on interpretation! And Ruffalo? He's always been a perfect "sperm donor" for me. LOL

Josh Hutcherson is Laser. Is he having a "special relationship" with buddy Clay?

OB-Gyn Nic and landscape artist Jules share an unusual video together.

Mia Wasikowska sometimes reminds you, not of "Alice", but of a younger Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paul is invited over at the family's barbecue.

The stunning Julianne Moore.

Julianne Moore's sizzling ad campaign for Bulgari. This one is the "Eccentric Charisma" campaign.

Mia Wasikowska

Mark Ruffalo's first Oscar nomination as businessman Paul - the sperm donor who unwittingly sneaks himself within the corridors of an otherwise "normal" family mechanics.

Alice in Weirdsville!

Children grow up. And even fairy tale characters grow up too. Like Peter Pan, like Little Red Riding Hood, and like Alice of Wonderland! So Tim Burton follows the relatively vapid Alice 13 years after her "Wonderland" adventures. She is emotionally scarred from her beloved father's death! And we are witnessing a dour and seemingly lost Alice with her head up in the clouds! How can anyone who has experienced Wonderland grow up so introverted and circumspect, we wonder! We do know that she will be going back to Wonderland, right?

We were really excited with the cinematic possibilities that director Tim Burton could create!

It is unfortunate then that I found "Alice in Wonderland" tepid and lackluster!

The Alice of my childhood was a spritely girl, and Wonderland was magical! The characters were fun and whimsical. However, Tim Burton's updated characters were downright weird. It wasn't a magical land but a circusful of freaks! Try "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"!

Sure Helena Bonham-Carter was adorably nasty as the Red Queen, but even the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) turned out ghostly and uninteresting! Surely, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter is amazing like anything he does, but the rest of the film is relatively unimpressive! Not all that bad, but floating between a weekend movie-going and a stay-home Saturday!

Ho-hum!

Mia Wasikowska is Alice! Or is she?

The fantastic Johnny Depp!

Alice with Tweedledum & Tweedledee, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen!