Comments

1
What surprised me was the lesbians watching man-on-man porn. Isn't that more a straight girl/gay guy thing?
2
In a way that's a little bit refreshing. If I remember rightly it was Roger Ebert who complained that the American Pie movies represented a new trend. There was a time when kids would sneak into theaters to see adults having sex, but Ebert pointed out that there was a trend toward adults going to the theater to see kids having sex.

So at least The Kids Are All Right focuses on adults having sex.
3
Interesting. I like Julianne Moore, but I'm certainly not going to pay money to watch her fuck. Thanks for the heads-up.
4
So .. it's still good? I mean, between the three giant red plot flags I've picked up so far -- long-time lesbian suddenly desires cock, interloper is dragged in only to suddenly desire family, nuclear family structure prevails above all -- it doesn't sound like a good movie at all.

Of course I'll still be seeing it just to judge for myself. But I've found the review process for this movie puzzling. A lot that I've read either don't mention *any* of these flaws, or bring them up but neglect to explain how other parts of the presentation make up for them. Is it just one of those things that can't really be said explicitly? It's just ... "good"?
5
Julianne Moore? Shit, I'd pay to watch her read!
6
@5 she's really good at that. REALLY good.
7
Yes! All the reviews that I have read make no mention of "...Mark Ruffalo & Julianne Moore were pounding away at each other..."

Why is that??????
8
Spoiler alert!
9
@1: No.
10
I’ve enjoyed Lisa Cholondenko’s films in the past (High Art, Laurel Canyon), but I’m really sick of Hollywood’s standardized, tiresome template “OMFG you fucked someone else and now we have to have a thermonuclear divorce” storyline. Ugh and yawn.

Also, having watched The L Word long enough to earn my PhD in lesbianism, the entire idea that the gay gals just want a good, hard, deep-dicking seems disingenuous, clichéd, and frankly downright backward.

Meh, pass.
11
@3: if I could make DITTO any larger, I would.

Also, Dan, from the one time I recall having "Family Movie Night" with my parents and younger sister years ago back in HS, I recall how terrible it was for all involved when the surprise graphic sex scene comes on. Even in a family very open about sex - I'm going to go ahead and essay that yours fits in there - it was, so, very, awkward.
12
@ 11, what movie was that?
13
It does seem like from Brokeback Mountain to this movie, 'gay' movies seem to have a lot of straight sex. The first season of the L Word had a lot of straight sex also.
14
@11 it didn't even have to be graphic in my house. My mother walked out of the room saying "Well I'M embarassed" when Meg Ryan starts her fake orgasm in When Harry Met Sally.
15
Great write-up Dan... Loved your comments that you linked to... (that sounds weird but seriously)
16
@ 13,

I thought that all the straight sex between Jenny and Eric Mabius' character (Tim?) was in The L Word S 1 to show that a gal could be boning the most supernova hawt guy on the planet, but if she's closeted and gay, then it's not going to be emotionally or physically fulfilling.

Also, the fleeting shots of Eric Mabius' flawless, muscular ass--really an entire religion should be founded to worship it, along with his bulging arms, glistening washboard abs and thick, tree-trunk solid legs--were enough to compel me to watch every episode (drooooooooooll). What were we talking about again?
17
How come you block christian channels from your son, Dan (or were you being facetious)?
18
Excellent NYT piece.

I kind of wanted a less tragic plot line as well, but hopefully we can look forward to more movies that explore the dramatic possibilities between gay and lesbian families and their straight male interlopers.
19
@4: It's a GREAT movie. You will love it for the acting and character development, even if you find the plot unsatisfying.
20
@17 str8 parents do that too - the only channels I blocked were PPV and Christian channels.
21
Youh haih is like a cah-pet, I wanna sit on it and play a boawd game.
22
@17- I believe Dan's son is virulently anti-religious. Perhaps it's to prevent him from hitting things if he surfs across one of those freak shows?
23
Am I the only one who thought that High Art was poorly written, its characters bluntly drawn, and its acting horrible (except for Patricia Clarkson, who has a habit of being awesome in lousy films)?

That said, a few writers I trust have said that Julianne Moore and Annette Bening's relationship The Kids Are All Right has an uncanny depth and naturalism, so perhaps I'll see it.
24
thanks. I'll pass on yet another movie where a 'lesbian' fucks a straight guy. bleh.
25
@ 14, true story (but unfortunately not about me). Back in the 80s my friend Bob rented "Pink Flamingos" for his family without knowing what it was about. They get to the scene where they're having sex and a chicken is involved and... well, even if you don't know what that film is like, you can imagine how this went over.
26
Hm. Well, to give my own perspective on this, I was reared by two women who were self-identified lesbians. However, one of the two, my godmother (it's the easiest label for her), used to sleep with men when she got drunk. She was sort of a closet bisexual. And my mother lost her mind when I was about 11, decided being gay was too hard, and married a man. It is notable, however, that she chose a man without a sex drive.

Most of the lesbians I know, at least the older ones, have been married to men. Most had kids. Most don't continue to have sex with men on occasion, but some do. Most of my gay male friends, though, have had very few relationships with women, and only a couple have been married to them. None have kids from former heterosexual relationships. Very few have occasional sex with women. I don't pretend to know why that is, but it's a definite pattern among my admittedly-small sample of the population.
27
...oh, and far more of the men I know identify as exclusively homosexual than the women do...maybe the one commenter is right, and that has to do with subtle social pressure for women to be sexually available to men. All I know is what I've seen.
28
Seeing Julianne Moore naked should be a public service.
29
Sooooo, this ISN'T a remake of The Who documentary?
30
So I get MTV and Christian stations but why QVC????
31
Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore were pounding away at each other for roughly half the film’s running time


Wow, I've been anticipating this movie for months and Dan just made me want to see it even more!
32
@26 That's a really interesting perspective... Here I was thinking that this sounded like (not having actually seen the movie) that old idea that any lesbian can be swayed if she finds the right man, which I presume is something a lot of (straight) men think.

Dan, you make me laugh. Underneath your Mr. Sex exterior, you are as squeamish about kids watching sex scenes as my "boy-scout-must've-been-raised-Amish" husband is. Toooo funny. (I would put a smiley emoticon in, but you'd probably ban my IP address...)
33
Why would an episode of South Park that gives the message that it's ok to use "faggot" as an insult (b/c it doesn't "really" have anything to do with gays) be a family favorite?

It's like saying that "Afro" in the phrase "Afro-engineering" (or the more vulgar alternative) just means "shoddy", and it's not racist. I mean, does your son now call other kids "faggot" when they're annoying him, because hey, it just means "annoying person" now?

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