Day 33 Parenthood (1989)

Comedy Tuesday

One of the reasons Steve Martin was so ubiquitous in family films in the 90s is because he was so great in this family film in the 80s. Ron Howard directs this movie that is packed with stars from the past, from the 80s and future stars. The ensemble cast is great but this really is a Steve Martin Film, he is the center of the events that take place in this film. Martin is Gil Buchman, a 35 year old father of three, who is trying to avoid the parenting style of his own father played by Jason Robards. Gil has two sisters and a younger brother and they are all having issues that face parents in the modern world.

Although this is a comedy,  it is set in a world that is fraught with serious problems. Teens facing sexual issues, parents in the midst of unhappy divorce,  children suffering anxiety that is paralyzing are all subplots of the movie.  As with most inter-generational stories,  the toxic father son relationship is at the center of this film. Each of the siblings has their own style of raising kids and they produce varying moments of humor and pathos. Some quick shifts in tone happen but they are usually very entertaining.  Diane Weist turns on a dime in one scene from whacking her daughter’s boyfriend to whacking her daughter with a newspaper. There are fantasy sequences that are played for laughs but they are followed by moments of depressing reality that in a less deft film maker’s hands would destroy the mood.

I’ve mentioned Martin and Jason Robards,  the film also features Tom Hulce, Mary Steengergen,  Keanu Reeves,  Rick Moranis, and Leaf (Joaquin) Phoenix. As the movie goes along it gets quite heartwarming,  dispersing life lessons and preaching some standards.  The youngsters teach their parents some things as well. There are multiple pregnancies,  birthday parties and job crisis. There is also some discussion of women’s issues, and the roles that both men and women play in a marriage. The fact that things work out for the most point is not really a drawback,  I know people sometimes complain about an obvious cliche moment,  but there are reasons that they work.

Everybody gets a moment or two to shine in the movie. Howard and co-screenwiters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, his frequent collaborators,  managed to balance the humor and find some warmth in their characters.  There are jokes about each characters foibles,  but not the characters themselves. Even at their lowest, they keep their dignity in tact. There is some adult humor so it’s not really fit for the kids, but it is the kind of movie that grown ups can enjoy without wanting to slit their throats after watching,  like you do with some movies these days. Of course if you are one of those people who hates “Love,Actually “, you’ll probably hate this too.

Randy Newman did the music and the title and credit themes will instantly remind you of his work on “Toy Story “. Dee and I saw this movie the day it opened, which happened to be our ninth anniversary.  We had two children under three years old and could see the path ahead of us from watching these folks. Well before this film came out, I thought of myself as Gil, doing the best that I can because that’s what a Dad does. I did not have a difficult relationship with my father, my brothers took that role, I was the middle kid trying to fly below the radar and for the most part I succeeded.  Today would have been my father’s 95th birthday,  so I  thought this was a good choice for this date. Happy Birthday Pops.