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Parenthood
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Parenthood is a 1989 comedy-drama film with an ensemble cast that includes Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Harley Jane Kozak, Eileen Ryan, Helen Shaw, Jasen Fisher, Alisan Porter, Zachary LaVoy, Ivyann Schwan, Joaquin Phoenix (credited as Leaf Phoenix), and Dennis Dugan.
The film was directed by Ron Howard, who assisted in developing the story with screenwriters Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel. Much of the film is based on the family and parenting experiences of Howard, Ganz, Mandel, and producer Brian Grazer, who have at least 14 children among the four of them.
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Encyclopedia
Parenthood is a 1989 comedy-drama film with an ensemble cast that includes Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Harley Jane Kozak, Eileen Ryan, Helen Shaw, Jasen Fisher, Alisan Porter, Zachary LaVoy, Ivyann Schwan, Joaquin Phoenix (credited as Leaf Phoenix), and Dennis Dugan.
The film was directed by Ron Howard, who assisted in developing the story with screenwriters Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel. Much of the film is based on the family and parenting experiences of Howard, Ganz, Mandel, and producer Brian Grazer, who have at least 14 children among the four of them. The filming was partially done at the University of Florida.
Parenthood was nominated for two Academy Awards: Dianne Wiest for Best Supporting Actress, and Randy Newman for Best Song (for "I Love to See You Smile").
Plot
The story revolves around Gil Buckman (Steve Martin), a neurotic sales executive trying to balance the pressures of raising a family in the suburbs of St. Louis and succeeding in his career. Among Gil's issues is a family of relatives who all face their own obstacles related to family and raising children such as Gil's wife, Karen (Mary Steenburgen), his gruff and distant father, Frank (Jason Robards) and an assortment of other colorful relatives in a movie that raises the question: How easy is it to raise a family when you're also trying to have your own life?
Gil never overworks himself, because he wants to be an active father, rather than a distant one like his own father was. His relationship with his father remains tense. His parenting skills are put under more pressure when he finds out that his wife is pregnant with their fourth child whom he is unsure of, and that his eldest son, Kevin, may have emotional problems [recognizably, in retrospect, a mild form of social anxiety disorder] and may need to be placed in special classes or a private school if his issues don't get better. Given Kevin's issues, and some more minor issues with his other two children, Gil begins to blame himself and deeply question his abilities as a father. In addition, the financial burdens of another child and office politics at work may mean becoming the workaholic he despised his own father for being. When his father comes to Gil for advice on how to deal with Larry (Gil's wayward brother) and says he is asking Gil's advice because Gil is a good father, Gil has some closure about his feelings toward his father. Although this was a first step for Gil to realize that kids don't come with an instruction manual, it is grandma and his wife that finally get him to relax and enjoy what life brings rather than over analyze it.
His sister Helen (Dianne Wiest) is divorced and her dentist ex-husband is not involved with their children. He has a new wife and young son who he is very devoted to and wants nothing to do with Garry or Julie. At first, Garry appears to be a very disturbed boy (Joaquin Phoenix, credited as Leaf Phoenix). He is quiet, uninvolved and likes to be alone with a mysterious paper bag. As the story evolves, we find out that Garry is beginning to go through puberty and is experiencing typical things of boys his age. (The brown paper bag was actually filled with porno VHS tapes and the reason he preferred to lock himself in his room with the tapes was so he could masturbate to them.) His reaction to this is exacerbated because he has no relationship with his father. Helen's daughter Julie (Martha Plimpton) is still in high school, but struggling even though she got 1300 on her SATs. She is already having a sexual relationship with her nitwit, slacker boyfriend Tod Higgins (Keanu Reeves), and the two of them want to unrealistically start their lives together, despite his lack of ambition and direction. They get married and begin to live at her mother's house. Tod's presence in the house provides much needed comfort to Garry who begins to be happy after finally being told that what he has been going through is perfectly normal. Helen is at first very insecure about her parenting abilities at the beginning of the film, but as she realizes that her kids are more adjusted than what she thought given the parental abandonment they've endured. (And compared for example to the broken home Tod came from.) Her strength grows and is demonstrated in how she supports and guides her daughter when Tod is in a drag racing accident. Helen begins to date and ultimately marries Garry's biology teacher who becomes the loving father figure that especially Garry was so desperate to have.
Gil's other sister, Susan (Harley Jane Kozak) is a middle school science teacher married to an intelligent but arrogant husband, Nathan Huffner (Rick Moranis). They have a sweet, precocious daughter, Patty. Susan wants more children, but Nathan is overly obsessed with their daughter's cognitive development and as a result, she is unable to relate to other children. Susan lashes out by eating junk food hidden in the closet, and by compromising her diaphragm as a plan to get pregnant despite her husband's wishes. She eventually gets so frustrated with the situation that she leaves her family, causing Patty to struggle with her work and Nathan to eventually come to her class and win her back. The two then start to raise Patty like a normal child.
Finally, Gil's youngest sibling is his brother Larry (Tom Hulce) who, rather than settle into a career, has drifted through life trying to cash in on get-rich-quick schemes. Though he is the black sheep of the family, he is their father's favorite.(Mainly because he reminds him of himself at a younger age.) He has recently shown up, along with his bi-racial son, Cool (who was the result of a brief affair with a Las Vegas showgirl), and wants to borrow money from his father both for another of his get-rich-quick schemes and to pay off gambling debts. His father decides to help him, but in the process recognizes that his son will never stop wasting his life. Frank agrees to keep Cool after he is left in his care and realizes that he and his wife would be raising him.
Helen Shaw has a small supportive role as Gil's lovable grandmother who, despite her borderline senility, has flashes of insightful family philosophy. In particular, she metaphorically describes how she would rather experience all the surprises, fear and excitement of a roller coaster over the boring merry-go-round.
The film ends on a sentimental note with a new generation of Buckman children being born and the personal growth of the parents. For example, Frank lovingly hugs and cuddles his grandson Cool demonstrating that he changed his distant ways. The message of the film is seemingly that despite a family's hectic problems, there is nothing better than being part of it and everyone has insecurities about their parenting skills.
Criticial and commercial reception
The film was well-received by critics, and maintains a 92% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Television series
The film was adapted into a television show in 1990 for NBC. The television version was a critical flop and was quickly cancelled, but is notable for featuring an unusual number of people who at the time were unheard of but later became famous. One of the writers on the show was Joss Whedon. The cast featured child actors Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette, and Thora Birch. The show was featured on the now-defunct cable network Trio in 2005 as part of their "Brilliant But Cancelled" series of shows that were cancelled before their time.
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