there are some flicks that need to be seen this weekend. one in particular which comes out today- the kids are all right, is supposed to be the mecca of lesbians movies. 
this movie got a lot of buzz at sundance and the critics are loving it, which i suppose is a huge duh when both annette bening and julianne moore star in the film. well…. here it is, i actually went to a preview of this movie on wednesday and i sat in that theater and laughed and cried and gasped with horror. it was literally like some kind of emotional roller coaster and in all honesty i felt like i needed to schedule an appointment with my therapist afterwards. i needed a day to process this movie. there are a lot of opinions out there about how this is a family movie, not necessarily a gay movie. which, i suppose is true, but the fact is, it’s super gay because the family involved has two moms. 
Lisa Cholodenko directed and co wrote this incredibly simple story about a family. we see how hard it is to be a parent, we see how much our parents disappoint us and how incredibly ordinary marriage can be. but for me, this is a personal story as well. for the gays, we get to see something onscreen that we normally do not. there is a family. a home. a life together, even though it’s difficult. and they are both women. i cannot stress the importance of not underestimating the power of this. because, yes, yes critics you are right! this is a story about family with two parents that just happen to be women, so any straight person can go see this movie and relate. sure! yes! great! please. this is a beautiful movie because it gives us something beyond that. in this day, when equal rights are diminished and marriage is not an option (with a few exceptions) movies like this are impactful, to me.
small spolier: now that being said, i will say this- it also would have been nice if the affair in the movie was not with a man. and it was particularly disheartening when people in the audience cheered when mark ruffalo’s character and julianne moore’s character started having sex. this was not a clapping moment. it would be nice to see a mainstream movie with gay characters that doesn’t involve one of them having straight sex. i’m just saying. however, i get it. i get that this happens in real life. i get that this is even touching on a larger topic, one of sexual fluidity, which i do appreciate, but! BUT it was still painful to watch.
this was a great movie. this was a lesbian movie. a movie that touched on a thousand themes and quietly plucks at your heart along the way, because you’ve been there at some point, some place, you’ve experienced some thing that one of those characters is going through. superbly acted, beautifully written and a great way to start the weekend- so go forth! and enjoy these faces:
Barbarella is Bi 