Plot
Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life.
Release Year: 2010
Rating: 7.2/10 (48,878 voted)
Critic's Score: 86/100
Director:
Lisa Cholodenko
Stars: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo
Storyline Nic and Jules are in a long term, committed, loving but by no means perfect relationship. Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her "nine to five" life, sometimes trying to start a business - always unsuccessfully - or being the stay at home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni and Laser, Nic who is Joni's biological mother, and Jules who is Laser's biological mother. Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Shortly after Joni's eighteenth birthday and shortly before she plans to leave the house and head off to college...
Writers: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
Cast: Julianne Moore
-
Jules
Annette Bening
-
Nic
Mark Ruffalo
-
Paul
Mia Wasikowska
-
Joni
Josh Hutcherson
-
Laser
Yaya DaCosta
-
Tanya
Kunal Sharma
-
Jai
Eddie Hassell
-
Clay
Zosia Mamet
-
Sasha
Joaquín Garrido
-
Luis
Rebecca Lawrence
-
Brooke
Lisa Eisner
-
Stella
Eric Eisner
-
Joel
Sasha Spielberg
-
Waify Girl
James MacDonald
-
Clay's Dad
Taglines:
Nic and Jules had the perfect family, until they met the man who made it all possible.
Opening Weekend: $491,971
(USA)
(11 July 2010)
(7 Screens)
Gross: $20,803,237
(USA)
(17 October 2010)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Annette Bening and Mia Wasikowska both shared the same stand-in.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When Laser and Joni hug at the University, Laser hugs with one arm up and one arm down, and so does Joni. But in the next scene, Joni's arms are both up, and Laser's are down.
Quotes: Paul:
Just making an observation. Nic:
Yeah? Well I need your observations like I need a dick in my ass!
User Review
flat story, great actors
Rating: 2/10
The only reason I didn't give this a 1 (awful) is because the actors
worked so hard to raise the material to something more than drek.
The characters of Nic and Jules are written as such caricatures that I
can only applaud Annette Bening and Julianne Moore for bringing their
own humanity to try and give them life.
The writing didn't even deal with the initial impetus for finding the
bio-dad - the son's feeling that something was missing and maybe it was
a need for a male in his life. Nothing much was developed with this at
all.
The most offensive writing, I felt, was in the character of Paul - the
sperm donor. The kids initiated the reconnection - they went looking
for him, not vice versa; and Jules did not hesitate to respond to his
reaction to her as an attractive woman. Yet Jules was allowed at the
end, to grovel family style, and apologize for her actions - and we
believe the family will once again forgive and embrace her.
Paul, who found himself attracted to the two kids he helped create and
to one of the bio-moms, is castrated and cast aside by Nic at the front
door when he comes to make a similar apology.
I don't think this movie represents the many same sex couples with kid
type families as they would lead you to believe. These characters are
all in need of serious counseling.
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