All in the Family 

Forgive us for being cynical, but with a title like A Family Is a Family Is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration, we were going to just pass on HBO's latest hour of empowerment. But as the defense whips into action in California's landmark Federal Prop 8 trial and seeks to justify the state’s anti-gay marriage law on a "protect the children" basis, the doc's boundless energy turns out to be fortifying in its optimism. 

Much like her Emmy-nominated All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise, O'Donnell’s film trades blunt politicizing for gooey heartstrings. A rainbow of breathless kiddies giggle opinions on what makes a family (hint: it's love) while Ziggy Marley and earnest amateurs provide musical interludes. Think Free to Be...You and Me meets Kids Say the Darndest Things plus a sprinkle of Star Search, with single parents, lesbian weddings, multi-racial families, international adoptions and artificial inseminations (kookily animated by a sperm singing Sinatra to an egg) all getting their celebratory due. 

Sure, such a collection of happy tales of diversity may be little more than preaching to the choir, but thanks to a 40-minute runtime, it satisfies the feel-good centers without getting cloyingly cute.


A Family Is a Family Is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration premieres January 31 at 7PM on HBO.