Parenthood (1989)

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (story) &
Babaloo Mandel (story) ...

Release Date:

2 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

It could happen to you.

Plot:

The Buckman family is a midwestern family all dealing with their lives: estranged relatives, raising children, pressures of the job, and learning to be a good parent and spouse.

Plot Keywords:

Brief Child Nudity | Scheme | Briefs | Single Parent | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Gil Buckman
Dianne Wiest	...	Helen Buckman
Dennis Dugan	...	David Brodsky
Mary Steenburgen	...	Karen Buckman
Paul Linke	...	George Bowman
Jason Robards	...	Frank Buckman
Rick Moranis	...	Nathan Huffner
Tom Hulce	...	Larry Buckman
Martha Plimpton	...	Julie Buckman
Keanu Reeves	...	Tod Higgins
Harley Jane Kozak	...	Susan Buckman (as Harley Kozak)
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Garry Buckman-Lampkin (as Leaf Phoenix)
Eileen Ryan	...	Marilyn Buckman
Helen Shaw	...	Grandma
Jasen Fisher	...	Kevin Buckman

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Gainesville, Florida, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

When Grandma inhales the helium balloon and says that when she was born, Grover Cleveland was president. 'Helen Shaw' (the actress who played her) was born on July 25, 1897, just four months and three weeks after the end of Cleveland's second term.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During one of the baseball scenes, a ball is hit into the outfield. The player appears to have caught it, but a ball appears on the ground beside him. Yet when he reaches into his glove to throw the ball home, it is there, while the ball on the ground is still in sight.

Quotes:

Frank: You know, when you were two years old, we thought you had polio. Did you know that?
Gil: Yeah, Mom said... something about it a couple of years ago.
Frank: Yeah, well, for a week we didn't know. I hated you for that.
[Gil looks surprised and hurt]
Frank: I did. I hated having to care, having to go through the pain, the hurt, the suffering. It's not for me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "ER: Parenthood (#13.4)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

I Love To See You Smile

Are you someone's parent? Are you someone's child? SEE THIS MOVIE!!

When "Parenthood" first came out, I did my level best to avoid it, certain that it seeing it would be roughly akin to being embalmed with maple syrup. Then came that dreadfully slow night at home a couple of years later, faced with a choice on the ol' tube between endless reruns of "Three's Company" and HBO showing -- oh, no! -- "Parenthood." So I clicked on HBO, gritted my teeth, prepared for the worst . . .

And was wrong.

Ron Howard is one savvy filmmaker. Maybe one of the savviest, I'm not sure. But I do know that, to make "Parenthood," he combined his savvy with all the heart he could muster (which was plenty, apparently) and that the result is a masterpiece.

Virtually every aspect of parenting is examined; moreover, it is done in a way that -- miracle of miracles! -- causes you to think, and to feel, every bit as much as it makes you laugh. Throat lumping up? Not to worry, here comes another belly-laugh to smooth it out.

The key to the film's message may lie with Jason Robards' speech --"There's no goal line in parenting, no end zone where you spike the ball and that's it . . ." -- or it may lie with Keanu Reeves -- "You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to drive a car or buy a dog . . ." -- or it may simply be Gil Buckman's (Steve Martin) heroism in salvaging his emotionally disturbed son's birthday party; then again, it might be embodied in the frantic, stressed out stoicism of Dianne Wiest's single mom character as she comes to grips with her teenage daughter's choices and impending motherhood. But wherever you find it herein, the message is simple and profound: Parenthood is nothing less than heroism on a daily basis. Quiet, unheralded, underappreciated heroism.

One of the finest things about this movie is that nobody steps out of character. There are no miraculous revelations, no nick-of-time cavalry charges or character transformations. Characters here solve their individual dilemmas by growing WITHIN their characters. And realistically, at that.

It's been said that a really good story leaves its author crying as he/she writes the final pages. Sometimes -- not often enough -- a really good movie can leave a reviewer the same way as he finishes his commentary, crying and laughing simultaneously.

Well, don't just stand there! Someone get me a Kleenex!!