The Kids Are All Right 2010

Michael Phillips, At the Movies: No film has left me with a fuller sense of satisfaction this year so far. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Cholodenko's film stands as one of the best American films of the year precisely because it's willing to look at what love truly gives, and what it truly takes. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The performances are all close to perfect, which is to say that the imperfections of each character are precisely measured and honestly presented. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: The director alternates incident-laden storytelling with penetrating character moments that her terrific cast acts to the fullest. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The title, like Nicole Holofcener's Please Give, is one that trails you out of the theater and gives you something to brood on. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The basic joke here, and it's a rich one, is that the dynamics of gay marriages differ little from those of straight marriages. But that joke also serves as a catalyst for some startlingly beautiful considerations... Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The acting in this film is so good, across the board, that it doesn't feel like acting; we're simply watching a family going through some drama (and comedy) over a summer before its eldest child leaves for college. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: An intimate, funny, occasionally upsetting depiction of a loving family that is, like so many families, often only just functional. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Movies like The Kids Are All Right -- beautifully written, impeccably played, funny and randy and true -- don't come along very often. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Plenty of movies strive for topicality, but occasionally something like The Kids Are All Right slaps you in the face with the world you're actually living in. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "All right" doesn't begin to describe it ... the easiest movie to love I've seen all year. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Cholodenko understands that the family, any family, remains a primal source for drama that is both mirthful and maddening. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A comedy of modern manners with the texture of a great short story. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Cholodenko and cowriter Stuart Blumberg have crafted a loving work about family that will resonate as true for those who find their experience reflected on the big screen and will be revelatory to others. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Definitions of family, love and friendship all get put to the test with wit and warmth in The Kids Are All Right, one of the year's most honest and endearing films. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Guided by an outstanding script, everyone is able to go deep into her or his character. Particular huzzahs are due Bening for the precision she brings to the brusque yet emotionally expressive Nic. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: Sophisticated and funny, but once you get past the unusual premise and the fact that the main couple is realistically portrayed, there's nothing surprising about it. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Witty, urbane and thoroughly entertaining. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Its emotional pull remains consistent to the end. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: There are not only glancing moments but whole sequences in this movie when the agony of social embarrassment makes you want to haul the characters to their feet and slap them in the chops. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The specifics of the story only underlie its general, and universal theme: Marriages and families can be hard work -- and kind of worth it. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Kids may sound like typically quirky arthouse fare. But this is a movie for everyone -- and, in one way or another, about everyone, too. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The Kids Are All Right might not be as edgy as Cholodenko's past work, but this more mainstream effort has lots of smarts, lots of heart and an open mind. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Touching and funny in their upheaval, the people in The Kids Are All Right open the door to a brand new examination of family values that leaves you charged and cheering. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Here are five gifted actors at the top of their games as five characters in search of what makes a family. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It's a film about marriage itself, an institution with challenges that are universal. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Kids makes its own special magic. It's irresistible. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: It's so real, so sexy, so sad, so honest and so truly, heartbreakingly funny. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's a movie about basic things, about the meaning of family and the vulnerability of families, with the suggestion that the ones most subject to bombardment are the families least protected by custom and tradition. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The Kids Are All Right is the movie we've been waiting for all year: a comedy that doesn't take cheap shots, a drama that doesn't manipulate, a movie of ideas that doesn't preach. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The Kids Are All Right is a smart, cheerful, character-driven relationship comedy. In other words, it's a miracle. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It's a terrific film. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Somewhere around the halfway mark, the realization arrives with a dull thud: Turns out that unconventional families can be just as tedious in their melodramatic dysfunctions as any traditional clan. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The best thing about the film is its bigheartedness. It's not out to mock these people, but rather to show how any person of any orientation can become unraveled when high-minded principles meet with base human instincts. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This gem features five topnotch, multidimensional performances in one of this summer's most engaging films. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: Sparked by wonderfully lived-in performances from Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right" is alright, if not up to the level of writer-director Lisa Cholodenko's earlier pair of new bohemian dramas. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The actresses are loose and funny, trading off big scenes and clearly enjoying themselves throughout. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Cholodenko and her cast turn what could have been an utterly artificial story into a warm, funny, sharp-tongued and broiling examination of the volatility underlying even the happiest of families. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Just about everyone who has been a parent, child or partner will find resonance in its bittersweet depiction of the joys and trials of lifelong intimacy. Read more