Movie Entertainment

The Real Story: Personality and Family Dynamics.

The Story Line.

This is a “slice of life” movie. It takes place over a couple of months or so in the lives of two lesbian women, Nic and Jules. Each of these women was impregnated by the same anonymous sperm donor and each bore a child. The eldest kid, Joannie, is finishing her senior year in high school as a National Merit Scholar. The younger boy, Laser, is still in high school but bored with it, into sports and, unfortunately, has a loser friend.

First, I think we, as moviegoers, were misled by the movie’s label, “comedy.” I saw the movie twice, thinking I missed the comedy parts but found that “No” I hadn’t missed them; I just couldn’t find any. This is a serious study in personality and family dynamics.

On the surface, Nic and Jules deal with a crisis in their partnership that occurs because Laser convinces Joannie to find their biological father. When she does, Joannie, Laser and Paul meet and become friends. A little later, Nic and Jules learn about and meet Paul, a successful restaurant owner.

Paul is attracted to Jules. When he offers her a landscaping job at his restaurant, she takes it and, soon, they fall into an affair. Nic discovers the betrayal and the kids are told. Paul urges Jules to leave Nic and come with him but she rejects him. Instead, she rides out the emotional separation she’s created with Nic and the kids and on the day they all drop Joannie off at her university dorm, there’s a thaw in Nic’s icy demeanor. Jules and Nic’s relationship begins to heal.

Now, for A Deeper Look.

(1) Opposites Attract. It’s true that most of us are attracted to our opposite personality. It’s also true that while we may love, commit to and/or marry our opposites, often the very traits that we’re attracted to begin to annoy us over time. That’s true here with Nic and Jules.

Nic is a combination of the Superiority (Achieving) and Control personalities. She’s smart, driven, perfectionistic, and cares intensely about rules and order. She’s strung pretty tightly and to handle herself, she drinks too much. She’s also a “head” person meaning that she’s unaware of most of her feelings or pooh-poohs them. She treats life as a problem to be solved. She looks at people negatively, critically and judgmentally.

Nic gives mixed messages to Jules. She likes the fact that Jules leans on her strength and sureness. Of course, a resulting bonus is that Nic is “in control.” But, she’s quickly critical of Jules for not “making something of herself.”

Jules is a Comfort personality, meaning that she’s passive and hates any kind of pressure, which is why she shows so little direction in her life. She’s started 3 or 4 careers; all have amounted to nothing. At middle-age, she’s still uncertain and hasn’t “found” herself. The result? Low self-esteem.

She’s a high-maintenance partner for Nic but seems unaware of it. On a better note, she’s also the couple’s “feeling” and “relationship” person, always trying for a deeper connection with Nic and the kids. This need for deeper connection in her is one of the reasons she responds to Paul so quickly. He gives her the encouragement, attention and understanding that Nic doesn’t.

(2) The other deeper concept here is: children unconsciously decide their personalities by the age of five, though most adults are unaware that it’s happening. Usually the oldest child will “follow,” that is, will take on more personality traits of the parent that she or he perceives to be the strongest. The second child takes the traits of the other parent. Why? Seldom will a child compete with the sibling above. So here, Joannie is much more like Nic, Laser much more like Jules. (We’ll only hope that Laser can grow more confidence earlier rather than later in his

life, unlike his mother, Jules.)

The saddest person in this group of five turns out to be Paul. When we first meet him, he’s content with his life as a successful bachelor restaurant owner. He seems to like living a surface personal life with various attractive women. In the short space of 3 or 4 months, he meets his two biological children, wants to commit to Jules but is rejected by both Jules and Nic, as well as the kids, for their own various reasons. At the movie’s end it’s uncertain whether any of the relationships he came to value will ever be part of his life again. Sad.

If you’re interested in studying personalities and relationships, you’ll want to see “The Kids are All Right.” Even without seeing it, though, I hope these ideas interest you enough to take a deeper look at your own family or other families you know. Give it a try. The more we understand about ourselves and our families, the more happiness and peace we have.

Showbiz is a multibillion dollar industry, and there are countless numbers of people who would like to join the industry. Every country has its own cinema culture and the worldly recognized movie industry is Hollywood. Every actor hopes to reach the heights of Hollywood fame at some point in their career, and it all starts with making great strides in local TV and movie scenes. If you are an actor hoping to make it big in the TV scene, you can keep up with new show auditions by following this guide.

Visit your local theater

Most countries have national theaters, where plays and other related performances are staged. It is important to visit your local theater regularly, because most auditions announcements are first posted on the notice boards found in these theaters. You can also talk to the performing artists based at the theater to find out if they know of any upcoming auditions.

Join a talent agency

As an actor, it is important to get representation whether through an independent manager or a local talent agent. Represented actors have better chances of finding out if there are new movies to audition for. The work of talent agencies or managers is to make sure that the artist they represent attends as many auditions as possible, in order to increase their chances of getting cast for a movie or a TV show. The agencies go a step further and ensure that the artists they represent attend acting classes and any other relevant training; required to increase their chances of getting cast for the parts they audition for.

Sign up with online audition database websites

Several audition database websites have come up to help actors find new show auditions around their locations. These websites provide location services, and when an actor keys in their particular zip code in the system the website sends them weekly information about the auditions held around their region. These websites also have forums and communities which are structured to help actors to enhance their talents. They provide tips on how to prepare for auditions and they also hold contests geared towards helping actors to get discovered by talent scouts. The forums and blogs provide a platform for actors to share their experiences with the auditioning process, and to give each other support and tips on how to get through auditions.

Look out for audition advertisements in newspapers and television stations

Usually when big budget movies are looking for certain characters to cast they will make national announcements on local TV stations and newspapers. You should keep up with the latest news about your local TV and film industry, so that you can find out about new movies to audition for. Once you find out about upcoming TV show or movie auditions, share the information with friends. Friends and family members involved in the showbiz industry are also resourceful when it comes to finding out about upcoming auditions in your region.

There has never been anything like this show on television – every cult horror classic film all rolled into a one-hour television series stretched out over a several episodes. If you loved the twisted writing of LOST, you will be waiting for Wednesday nights with just as much anticipation.

Television dramas need the audience to feel connected to the characters while developing a weekly repertoire that draws them back. An audience will become invested in the storyline, needing to intake every tidbit they can consume from each of their favorite characters. AMERICAN HORROR STORY has put a new spin on typical television writing by opening the door to arm length character development.

This style keeps the viewer intrigued by purposefully putting a wall up between the audience and the characters while using a hook line reel. Its like playing chicken as a kid, riding your bicycle downhill against traffic and due to the youthful heart of invisibility, you begin to peddle faster. Who will swerve first? The speed forces your skin back from your face when out of nowhere a car backs out of their driveway crunching the bike under the back wheels. Your body begins tumbling in the air with no grasp on where gravity will drop you.

The sensation of flipping through the air equals the writing of AMERICAN HORROR STORY. The audience will be drawn into the story, yet never really grasping what decade they are viewing. The mental stability of some of the characters will be as off balance as the writing will keep the audience. It is the intrigue that will put this show on the map. Only FX and cable would have the gonads to step into a slim genre of shows who have attempted to bring out a new style to television.

Vampires are in but have been so glorified that the genre has been extremely watered down. For everyone who loves the vampire craze, this will not be a show for you. HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, GRINDERHOUSE and PULP FICTION are all feature films that are the basic foundation for the style of AMERICAN HORROR STORY. They have laid the groundwork and established an audience, but will those people be satisfied with the weekly installments?

FX, in conjunction with the twisted writing by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, along with the added writers should push the limits of television as we know it now. Murphy and Falchuk, also the creators, will tap into an audience waiting in the wings for something refreshing.

Dr. Benjamin Harmon (Dylan McDermott) is a practicing psychiatrist whose patients become entangled in his family life. Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) has drifted from her husband due to his previous infidelities. Moving to a new city gives hope for a fresh start.

Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga) is Ben and Vivien’s hard nosed spoiled daughter who quickly becomes attached to one of her dad’s patients. Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) is one boy no one would want their daughter to date, let alone be friends with. He is a patient of Ben’s who is drawn to Violet with feelings of protection.

Constance (Jessica Lange) is the strange new neighbor who has a twisted way with neighborly jesters. She can be cruel to her daughter, but that will not stop her from terrorizing anyone who may feel entitled to do the same. Addy (Jamie Brewer) is the down-syndrome daughter of Constance who does not understand her boundaries when it comes to the neighbor’s house.

Moira O’Hara (Frances Conroy) is a housekeeper who shows up and continues her job in the Harmon house with few questions asked. Everyone views Moira as an older woman except for Ben who sees her as a young, sexy, and attractive woman (Alex Breckenridge).

The lives of Moira, Tate and Constance have a connection to the house that Ben and Vivien have purchased. The show switches from the killings that have taken place in the house years earlier, the only question is what is real and what is fantasy or dreams. Some things or nothing can be real… what will your perception be?