Parenthood (1989)

"Insightful...warm, winning and truthful...  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"A veritable diaper bag of laughs...  Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Editor's Note The Buckmans are a modern-day family facing the age-old dilemma of trying to raise children the "right" way. At the center of the storm is Gil, who manages to keep his unique sense of humor while maintaining his career, and being a loving husband and parent.

	Dianne Wiest
	Jason Robards
	Joaquin Phoenix
	Keanu Reeves
	Martha Plimpton
	Mary Steenburgen
	Rick Moranis
	Steve Martin
	Babaloo Mandel - Screenplay
	Brian Grazer - Producer
	Christopher Nowak - Art Director
	Daniel P. Hanley - Editor
	Donald McAlpine - Cinematographer
	Joseph M. Caracciolo - Executive Producer
	Lowell Ganz - Screenplay
	Lowell Ganz, et. al. - Based On Story By
	Mike Hill - Editor
	Ron Howard - Director

The trials and tribulations of middle-class family life are depicted in director Ron Howard's humorous and loving ode to the joys of parenthood. Middle-manager Gil Buckman struggles to reconcile his ambitions at work with his loyalty to his family, particularly to his troubled son, Kevin. His divorced sister Helen has a sullen and withdrawn son and a sexually active teenage daughter. Gil's other sister, Susan, is a schoolteacher married to an ambitious yuppie determined to make a genius of their 3-year-old daughter. Their long-lost brother, the irresponsible Larry, has always been daddy's favorite and returns home with an illegitimate son named Cool. Rolling Stone
"...Heartfelt and howlingly comic..." 08/24/1989 p.38

New York Times
"...[A] sophisticated sitcom of a movie....A rich evocation of the swirl of suburban family life..." 08/02/1989 p.C15

Los Angeles Times
"...[Howard's] fine touch with ensembles reaches real maturity here, as he pulls together the script's tendency to skitter between sociology and sitcom, making it into one perceptive, delicious whole..." 08/02/1989 p.C1

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Ron Howard's "Parenthood" is a delicate balancing act between comedy and truth, a movie that contains a lot of laughter and yet is more concerned with character than punch lines. It's the best kind of comedy, where we recognize the truth of what's happening even while we're smiling, and where we eventually acknowledge that there is a truth in comedy that serious drama never can quite reach...What I enjoyed most about the movie was the way so many scenes were thought through to an additional level...Having emerged from a TV sitcom ("Happy Days") determined to become a director, [Howard] paid his dues with apprentice work like "Grand Theft Auto," went on to box office and critical success with "Splash" and "Cocoon." Now he has made a wonderful film that shows him as a filmmaker mature and secure enough to find truth in comedy, and comedy in truth, even though each hides in the other so successfully. - Roger Ebert