What is surprising to me with a film like Lisa Cholodenko’s delightful, layered comedy The Kids Are All Right, is that it will be heralded as a smart, funny look at the “modern family.” Something that we’re only now seeing more of. It’s interesting because this version of the “modern family” has been around for some time — two moms, two dads, etc. And it’s taken this long to make a real, honest movie about it. Or perhaps I’m just missing some other glaring examples of movies that take on gay and lesbian families that are more honest than silly. Perhaps there are others out there that take an honest look at such a family unit. I can’t recall any.

The fact remains — Cholodenko’s film, which follows the story of a married couple (Julianne Moore and Annette Benning) whose children go out in search of their biological father, only to find that he’s a health-food restaurant owning womanizer (played by Mark Ruffalo), is a fine film. It’s a tight story with great energy and infectious performances, not just from obvious places, but also from young Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland). And as you’ll see in the trailer below, it doesn’t have to work very hard to be funny. That’s never a bad thing.

The Kids Are All Right will be in theaters on July 7, 2010. For more, check out my Sundance review. Also, you can watch the trailer below or get it in HD over on Apple.com.