Review of Parenthood (1989) by ***Charlie*** — 09 Sep 2008

Parenthood" is an amazing film, covering all aspects of being a parent and a child. The story focuses around Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his wacky, dysfunctional family. His sister Helen (Dianne Weist) tackles her teenage son Garry (Joaquin Phoenix-who for some reason was credited on this movie as "Leaf") and her daughter Julie, who becomes married to your everyday airhead, Tod (played by Keanu Reeves, one of my favorite actors). Gil's other sister, Susan (Harley Kozak) is trapped in a marriage where she has no real say over the raising of her genius daughter (Ivyann Schwan-from the movie "Problem Child 2"). Her husband is hilariously played by Rick Moranis, who unknowingly supplies great comic relief to the film. Tom Hulce plays Gil's schister brother, Larry Buckman, who comes home for a visit with the family, dragging his new son, Cool (yes, that's his name) along. Gil faces problems not only with his brothers and sisters, but with his own children, and even his job.

The story was directed by Ron Howard, who in my opinion is one of the greatest film directors of the 20th century. He brings a lightness to the story and shows us all that our families could be a lot more crazy than we think.

The movie is a mix of dark humor (the scene where a vibrator is mistaken for a flashlight during a blackout) and life lessons (Grandma's fantastic roller coaster analogy). If you ever see only one movie in your entire life, this should be it.