Touching and funny, the film references the all too familiar little things – like hair in the sink – that make couples teeter between crazy-in-love and just plain crazy. “We were really keen to pull the humor out as much as possible,” said Cholodenko. “We laughed a lot while we were working on it, but there’s a humanism at the core of it that invites you to laugh, because you start to realize that we’re all on the same page.”

Cholodenko holds an MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. She was inspired to pursue a film career after working as an assistant editor on Boyz N the Hood and with director Beeban Kidron on Used People. Following a series of award-winning short films, including Souvenir (1994) and Dinner Party (1997), Cholodenko made her feature directorial debut with High Art (1998) followed by Laurel Canyon, which world-premiered at the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival. Prior to The Kids Are Alright, Cholodenko directed Cavedweller (2004), starring Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn, and directed a number of television programs, such as Homicide: Life on the Street, Six Feet Under, Hung, and The L Word.

“I hope the audience feels a sense of connectedness to their own experience and maybe be a little more forgiving of themselves,” said Cholodenko. “The film is a celebration of family. People can be flawed and make mistakes, but if the family is durable, then they’re there to embrace you.”

Phone interview with Erin J. Smith, movie reviewer for CASA Magazine.
Metropolitan Theatre 5 is located at 916 State Street. For information on show times and tickets, see page 16 in July 30th's issue of CASA. Purchase tickets in advance. It should be a full house!

Caption: Annette Bening, director Lisa Cholodenko, and Julianne Moore, on the set of The Kids Are All Right. Photos by Suzanne Tenner.

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Who knew that being honest could be so funny?
The Duplass brothers may be on to something with their new film Cyrus, which screened recently as part of the SBIFF Cinema Society kick-off to the 2010/2011 season. Jay and Mark Duplass, the writing/directing team behind the film, joined Roger Durling in a conversation following the screening.

Shot in a documentary style using two cameras from different angles, the Duplass boys capture the raw, intimate performances of their actors, who are encouraged to improvise – a winning combination when the cast includes Academy Award winning actors like John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei coupled with the unpredictable comic timing of Jonah Hill.

Cyrus opens to find John, a desperately tragic, divorced man who, at the urging of his ex-wife, goes to a party. While there, he experiences all the pains of social awkwardness and skips right past small talk into full disclosure. The miserable combination of Red Bull and vodka only serve to render John more honest. But then he meets Molly, who joins him in a round of impromptu karaoke, and the two belt “Don’t you want me, baby?” into the night.

Everything goes swimmingly until John meets Cyrus, Molly’s 21-year old son with a serious case of failure-to-launch. Suddenly, even a pair of dirty tennis shoes take on a symbolic power of their own as Cyrus and John battle it out in their attempts to out-wit each other.
“Cyrus was a grown-up since he was five years old,” said Mark Duplass, who described Cyrus as a middle-aged man in a sexless marriage. “His mother raised him as a peer and he views himself as her equal, which is uncomfortable and incredibly funny.”

For more information about the SBIFF Cinema Society, visit www.sbiff.org.

Caption: Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, and John C. Reilly in Cyrus

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