Laser, 15, persuades his sister Joni, 18, to call their donor sperm agency so that they can contact their donor. After just a few phone calls, Paul, the donor, is on the scene and has become a part of their lives in ways that could not have been foreseen.
Paul comes into the family like a hurricane, throwing everything it touches into the air. The kids like him, and he is intensely likeable-- a handsome, laid-back, motorcycle driving man who owns a restaurant nearby and grows his own fruits and vegetables. It’s clear that he likes women—he is having an affair with one of his employees. But apparently he has never been in a committed relationship, nor is he looking for one. When the kids ask him how he felt when he donated sperm, Paul intimates that it was good money for little work—but then quickly adds how happy he is that he did it.
Paul’s impulsivity is revealed to us a little later, when he asks Jules to landscape his gardens for him (she is considering doing this as a business). She accepts and before we know it, they are having an affair. (Did I mention that Jules is somewhat of a hippy who “goes with the flow?”) Jules tells Paul that just because she is sleeping with him doesn’t mean she’s not gay. Still, this doesn’t nullify the fact that she is cheating on her partner. When Nic discovers the affair during a dinner with the whole family, including Paul, the already frayed edges of Nic and Jules’s marriage begin to tear.
Paul is banished, and Nic and Jules are left to shore up their marriage (which they do). The family then readies itself for its next big change—Joni’s departure for college. In the most powerful moment of the movie, Nic, Jules, and Laser say goodbye to Joni, holding one another in a long four-way embrace.
The message embedded in the embrace is clear. We know that this is a family that has weathered significant storms—especially the appearance and departure of Paul—and is intact.
I loved this movie. I
went to it expecting a story about kids created through donor sperm. Instead, I
saw a story about a lesbian marriage and how it endured.
If I could write a sequel though, I would change one thing. I would want to see Paul mature and have a relationship with his kids that would not have threatened their parents.
He is, after all, a part of who they are.
Carolyn, thank you so much for your post. I saw the movie yesterday in Brooklyn, and loved it. I was absolutely struck by the audience's reactions, particularly during the heavy, intense scenes about marital discord. The audience laughed during those scenes and it made me think about another film from a different era, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", an early movie about interracial marriage. I am looking forward to the day when marriage between same sex partners is as ordinary and uneventful as marriages between individuals with different colored hair. We're not there yet, not even in Brooklyn.
Posted by: Corey Whelan | 07/26/2010 at 12:19 PM