I quoted you. It was your sentiment. Have the courage of your convictions and be prepared to be challenged on them.
Resorting to profanity is just what I expect from people who waste so much time on a film they didn't like in the first place.

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The onus is not on anyone to do anything except to sit back and watch the movie. As soon as I saw that the camera was zooming out from Mindy and Randy - in an unusual and dramatic camera move - I knew the kids were not going to see them again. It is visual storytelling. That part of their life was over, whether anyone used Facebook or not.
If you became detached, it's because you were not paying attention to what the director was showing you.
"especially not in today's instant information age society."
Ah, so no Shakespeare for you! Or Checkov, or Ibsen, or .. meanwhile the film got made and won the tremendous respect of critics, the industry, and many audience members worldwide, but Ruben declares that only ADD- approved movies deserve respect.
It's not too late, Ruben, you can retrain your brain to accept and adore intellectual stimulation. It's up to you.

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"I found it very odd that the kids had not used myspace, phone calls, or emails to stay in touch."
As far as you know, they did contact them, just wasn't shown in the movie. You may have noticed the movie fast forwards in time to where many moments, even important ones, are left out.

I found it very odd that the kids had not used myspace, phone calls, or emails to stay in touch. Then later, Facebook.
My cousins had step siblings come in and out of their lives, but then stay in contact through Facebook.
Also, what Mason and his sister went through was traumatic. How could they never bring it up again? Or go through angst because of it? Wouldn't they think about it every now and then? Mason was around 9 to 11 when it happened. He wasn't a baby. He would remember it.

Their mother sued and won the custody.

I like the fact that the camera pulls away from Mindy and Randy on the staircase the last time we see them, signalling that we will never see them again.

She called their mom (a bit uncommon the dad has custody) and reported him to child services.
I agree, an update would have been great.

Tf? Patricia isn't fat or even chubby. You must be one lonely dude.
I met Cinderella once She's actually kind of a bitch.

Or maybe their father beat them to death and he ended up in jail and died of delirium tremens over the next week while awaiting trial.

Going by the size of her, I think Patricia Arquette ate them.

not sure about randy but, mindy is at the house party the kids are at toward the end.

About the kids not reuniting: a child's and teenager's brain and outlook on life is quite different from an adult's. The time goes a lot slower as a kid, but also adapts much faster and friends that are out of their lives for more than a few months tend to be forgotten about completely and they go on with their lives. I mean, how many adults today have consistently had people in their lives since they were children?

I think that part was explained quite clearly in the film by the Aquette character. She was not their mother so she cant take them with her. She cant just take someone elses kids because "she" claims he's a jerk and alchoholic. A court would have to get involved and all that. She did what she could she called their mother which is all she could do.
"Oh, Mama, can this really be the end, to be stuck inside of mobile
with the memphis blues again"

Wish it was the one question that was answered. Professor jerk seemed to favor Mindy but poor Randy, thought of them the whole film.

That whole "I trust you" statement I interpreted to be a darker side and was chilling. As in Professor Bill was either already grooming her or beyond that and they could "share secrets". I may be way off base. But that guy was seriously messed up.

I do wish it would have showed what happened to Mindy and Randy but it is true that life goes on and people move on.

What happened to them is one of the reasons I hated this movie. It jumped too fast from year to year so you never felt truly attached.
I did feel awful for them when they were left though.

Thanks for the link.
I do realize she
had
to leave them behind and had no choice in the matter because she wasn't their legal guardian, and that having no closure on them is more "realistic" because that's how it sometimes is in the real world. I do get all of that, but I guess it's just selfishness on my part for wanting a bit of closure on the step-kids mainly because I became emotionally invested in them.
I mean, after Bill broke all those dishes and the kids were hanging out in their room, Sam and Mindy had each other, Mason was watching a comedy skit on the laptopbut Randy was lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. I felt bad for all of the kids, but mainly Randy because he had no one. It seemed like Mindy got the better end of the bargain because her dad wasn't AS big an beep to her ("I trust you.") as he was with Randy ("Are you feeling left out?!"). Mason at least had his mom to run to; Randy had no one except his sister.
Then when Olivia finally left Bill and took Sam and Mason away, the shot of Mindy and Randy on the staircase, utterly helpless, as they watched the only decent people they had in their lives at that moment leave so abruptlyjust really broke my heart.

She probably
had
to leave them behind (legally, that is). Besides reporting the abuse to CPS her options were limited she almost certainly obtained a restraining order against Bill, and that would have meant he could not contact her or the kids, but also vice versa she could not contact him or
his
kids.
This thread from last month covers many important points (including that this exact thing apparently happened to Linklater as a boy when his mother changed partners and he lost track of his step-siblings):
http://www.imdb.com/board/11065073/board/nest/240048239

This is extremely accurate. Every once in a while I think about childhood friends that were lost after I moved.

That stepfather you mentioned - was he abusive or tyrannical?

it was weird for the first few minutes of our first get-together.. and then it became fantastic. we are both happy i reached out to her. as i said in another post, she had been looking for me, too. thanks for your advice, but it's all good!