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Don't mind doing
it for the kids
Anticipated 'Kids Are All Right' to screen in Charlotte, Raleigh
by Lawrence Ferber :: qnotes contributor
™ prepare Julianne Moore for her role as a lesbian par
ent in "The Kids Are All Right," out director/co-writer
Lisa Cholodenko gave her some critical materials to study:
gay porn.
"Yeah!" Moore laughs, discussing the film in Manhattan's
Waldorf Astoria hotel in late June 2010. To explain: Moore and
Annette Bening play Jules and Nic, a middle-aged lesbian
couple who spice up their sex life by watching gay male porn
—which their 15-year-old son. Laser (Josh Hutchinson),
discovers and has a very awkward discussion with them
about "That stuff is really funny," Moore admits regarding the
scenes. "I love the honesty with which they explain it [to him].
It’s really adorable."
This is but one raucously funny sequence in the "High
Art" director’s third feature, which she co-wrote with
longtime acquaintance, heterosexual screenwriter Stuart
Blumberg ("Keeping the Faith," "The Girl Next Door").
Debuting to acclaim and ecstatic reviews at2010’s
Sundance and Berlin Rim Festivals, "The Kids" begins when
Nic and Jules’ two children. Laser and 18-year-old Joni (Mia
Wasikowska), who were conceived via artificial insemination
with sperm from an anonymous donor, track down their bio
logical father, Paul (Mark Buffalo). A laid-back restaurateur,
Paul is intrigued by his sudden "father" status, and slowly
ingratiates himself within the family unit. Nic, a physician with
a strict if not uptight disposition, isn’t exactly enthralled with
this development, but Jules, in the midst of an identity crisis
as far as career and life ambitions, develops a rapport with
Paul — and unexpected sexual chemistry, which leads to
explosive complications for all involved.
Comedic and sharply drawn, "The Kids" represents
Cholodenko’s first screenplay collaboration. While ultimately
symbiotic — Blumberg gets credit for insisting they include
the deliciously funny gay porn bit, which was borne from a
random writing break conversation — Cholodenko admits the
scripting process, which commenced following the release of
her 2002 feature "Laurel Canyon" and endured for the better
part of a decade, was fraught with tension and disagreement
"There were times we wanted to throttle each other and
quit," she says. "It was protracted and painstaking and [there
were] differences of opinion, but ultimately we defaulted to
where we began. I liked that he was bringing a comedic and
commercial sensibility and he liked I was bringing a more
auteur sensibility and we each wanted a little something of
what the other had or could do well."
The script also reflected some personal events in
Cholodenko’s and Blumberg’s own lives. She and long-term
partner Wendy Meh/oin (of Wendy & Lisa fame) were
see ‘Kids' on 10
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