*SPOILER ALERT!

I walked out of the theater at the end of this movie feeling really depressed. I couldn’t figure out whether I liked it or not, but the more I talked about it with TG the more I realised that I actually liked the movie.

Nic and Jules are a married couple with a son, Laser, and a daughter, Joni. They’re a typical upper middle class couple with Jules being the stay at home mother & Nic, the working mom.

All is not well in the marriage. Jules has issues with her self-worth & Nic is a borderline alcoholic and a control freak. Most weird of all, in my opinion, was the fact that they watched gay (male) porn to enjoy sex. They clearly care about each other but the cracks are beginning to show.

Joni has just turned 18, which means she can contact the sperm donor her mothers used for her & Laser. She’s reluctant to, but Laser really wants to meet him.

We’re then introduced to Paul, the sperm donor. He’s a laid back restaurant owner and a little taken aback, but curious when he’s contacted by the kids.

Jules, who wasn’t even keen on meeting him, takes an instant liking. Laser isn’t very impressed, but is willing to give Paul a chance. When the mothers find out about Paul, they hurt but insist on meeting him before the kids can continue meeting him.

We watch as the 5 characters interact with each other & one thing leads to another & Paul asks Jules to help him design his garden. Here’s where things got a little weird for me. Jules has an affair with Paul & it’s doubly awful because Nic doesn’t really like Paul.

Eventually, Nic finds out & so do the kids & Jules ends it with Paul.

I hated that Jules had an affair with a man. She is a lesbian, after all. That combined with the gay porn thing really pissed me off. And the fact that they didn’t have a nice happy marriage. The problem with being gay & being subject to constant criticism from the world is that it makes you defensive. I wanted the relationship to be nicer. I wanted the movie to be a PSA for how to have a happy family & this was not exactly going that way.

But that was my problem, not the movie’s. After wanting to be treated just like any other person, I fell into the trap of wanting to be seen as special. If there’s any message that this movie ended up having for me, it is that marriages and relationships are complicated and messy and lovely and intimate and all of that. And that it didn’t matter how messy the relationship got with Nic and Jules – the kids, truly, were alright.

Go watch!