Nicole 'Nic' and Jules Allgood are a married lesbian couple living in the Los Angeles area.

Nic and Jules' 16-year-old son Laser wants to find his biological father, but is too young to request that information from the sperm bank, so he asks his 18-year-old sister Joni to contact them.

The sperm bank identifies Paul Hatfield, a restaurant owner, as the donor and shares his contact information.

After a heated argument with Jules, Nic suggests they all have dinner at Paul's house to ease the tension.

Paul, believing he has fallen in love with Jules, calls her to suggest that she leave Nic and come live with him, bringing the kids.

Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg began outlining the script in late 2004, based in part on some aspects of her life.

[5][6] The project was helped to get off the ground by the caliber of actors who agreed to join, first Julianne Moore, followed by Mark Ruffalo and Annette Bening.

Cholodenko stated "People really admired what Stuart [Blumberg] and I got on the page but there was a fear factor regarding how the film was going to make money, as the subject matter is tricky.

After giving birth, she resumed work on the film and won financing from three major investors, including the French distributor UGC.

[2] The filmmakers rushed to finish the post-production in time for the Sundance Film Festival, where it was admitted after the deadline for competitive entries.

[3] The film was released to wide acclaim from critics, with Bening receiving widespread praise for her performance.

The site's consensus is that "Worthwhile as both a well-acted ensemble piece and as a smart, warm statement on family values, The Kids Are All Right is remarkable.

[21] Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4 and wrote, "The Kids Are All Right centers on a lesbian marriage, but is not about one.

[23] Annette Bening won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.