A majority of the reviews I have read or seen so far are positive for the movie "The Kid's Are All Right". Link to NYT Review. Granted all of these reviewers probably have no connection to donor conception outside flicks like this. They each go on how this is a accurate representation of how a family interacts between parents and teenagers etc.
But can they really say this is accurate for a family with two moms from an insider's perspective ? I don't know as I am just a heterosexual DI Dad and I know very few two mommy familes much less with teenage kids. I must remember to ask the mom's of one of my son's classmates for their reaction or if they even plan on seeing the film.
I do want to see this in the theatre but to be honest I want to see Grown Ups with Adam Sandler first.
Yes, it would be interesting to hear from someone in an identical situation on the film. I suspect that they would find a list of things to cringe over - it's hard to avoid this, it seems, no matter what the subject material - but the overall impression would speak volumes.
ReplyDeleteBea
Hm. It just did something weird. Did you get that comment?
ReplyDeleteBea
Probably something to do with my turning on comment moderation. I got sick of seeing all the spam added.
ReplyDeleteI watched Julianne Moore on a talk show the other day and I already saw one thing that I thought may be cringe worthy. She mentioned that her character and the sperm donor have a little spark (she doesn't actually say they have an affair). One review I read said "Jules and Paul have been tending more than his bushes..." That part of the story kind of rubs me the wrong way-like just because you give birth to someone's offspring means you feel some biological need to be with them. I don't know maybe I'm just being weird.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in seeing it though even if it isn't my donor situation.
It would be interesting. I often wonder how hollywood would handle our stories: Infertility to donor sperm parenting by a hetero couple.
ReplyDeleteIt might be better if they don't, because I'm sure they'd mess it up somehow and it wouldn't be pretty.
I don't think I could handle seeing that movie. I'd charge the screen with a knife or something.
ReplyDeleteI just hate having someone presume to speak for me, and I'm afraid the movie would try.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but hope to soon. However, the people I know online who have seen it have said it really is very thought-provoking and well done. There are a number of red flags for me as a lesbian mom of donor-conceived children, but from what I hear this aspect is handled with subtlety and complexity. The lesbian moms I know online who have seen the movie (mombian.com and lesbiandad.com) have had good things to say about it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very challenging when there are so few representations of families that involve donor conception out in the world. It makes us pin all of our hopes on one image, as if it could possibly reflect all of our experiences. I'm hopeful that we'll see more over time so we can have room for a wide range of experiences.