The Kids Are All Right

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Those who liked the ending seem to lean towards the argument that it was realistic and unconventional. I'm all about that. However, it should be done creatively--meaning, you should at least follow the basic fundamentals of film and story. Neither character arc nor story arc were fully complete. The ending was a copout, disguised as being "true" and "down to Earth" and whoever bought it is a total tool.

Both mothers were completely at fault and they were the ones that suffered the least. Bening's character had the personality that would make anyone want to seek someone else for affection, while Moore's character's solution to that was completely wrong. The kids' suffering is a no-brainer, and they are truly innocent bystanders. As for Ruffalo's character; he was a guy who opening embraced children he had no obligations to and he was simply the lover of a hurt person. The children and the father suffered the most, but they deserved it the least.

This could have been the "right" way to go about the story, but without a true lesson to the conflict, all of it is simply meaningless. There's nothing wrong with being unconventional and showing what can break a family up; but to not recognize who are the victims and who are the instigators--which this film is without a doubt guilty of--makes all the events melodramatic shallow crap.