Parenthood (1989)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

If you've got kids, you'll see so much here that rings true. It's the kind of movie they don't make anymore, "real" situations, not high-concept, ensemble casts that have actual characters to work with, and an attempt at showing life instead of fantasy. Some of this doesn't hold up almost 30 years later since the whole thing is devoid of anyone who isn't white and middle class (saving the boy Cool) and it reeks of Reagan era propaganda encouraging the making of more babies, but you can overlook that because the moments themselves are real. Saw this as a kid and had that diarrhea song stuck in my head for days... it all came back!

The likable "Parenthood" is a road trip through a set of related families. We have detours for many typical scenarios in America with some comedic moments, others are Rock Morinic, with a few poignant moments keeping the focus on the worthiness of a family life. Ron Howard and gang assembled a potent cast but went for absolute mass appeal in the face of divorce, contraception, puberty, gambling, irresponsible parenting, the blame game and life long grudges. It could have added up to more that the saccharine sweet ending we got. saw it as a single person when it came out and now on DVD as a Parent and it never managed to actually shed any light with the exception of Jason Robards who carries the message and I believe if involved more could have squeezed more juice out of this. His dealings with his two sons here seem real, while the rest seemed like acting for mass appeal.

I didn't wanted to see this movie at first , because I expected lame and sappy family entertainment . I was wrong . This is good family entertainment . It deals with serious problems in mature way . Also it's funny and not afraid to put some adult jokes . Today it wouldn't be possible because of political correctness. All actors had done good job . In my opinion the best performance belongs to Dianne Wiest . She's the character you care the most for . She shows her vulnerable side , yet when the time comes she's determined , strong and smart. She's cute and strangely attractive in some way. A true mother. Steve Martin is Steve Martin. Keanu Reeves proves that he's good at playing not-to-bright teenagers . It was also good to see Rick Moranis ("Ghostbusters") as intellectual guy obsessed with raising a perfect child.There is a good twist near the end of the movie . I could live without last 2-3 minutes of sugar.It's a good movie. Watch it (especially if you're a parent) . You won't regret it. I give it 7/10.

because beneath the humor of the truly brilliant script, layer upon layer of a highly philosophical take on the post-68 family structure unfold (which is subtly hinted at in Helen's "I was at Woodstock, for gosh sake!") and almost every line serves as the headline of some deeply-rooted problem in modern co-existence. Without feeling force-fed or lectured, we are presented with every conceivable angle of dysfunctional family life, from Robards' negligent father figure to the neurotically duty-obsessed Steve Martin ("My whole life is 'have to'!"). It is one of those gems that tend to get truer, the more you watch it. The acting is flawless all the way through, but in the final analysis, the true genius of the film lies in the script. And then it's so wonderfully unassuming! It strikes me as being one of those films like "The Apartment," which seem like comedies the first time you see them, but veer still more towards tragedy with each time they're revisited. I forget the name of the space capsule that contained a message to whichever aliens we wanted to inform about human life on the planet Earth, but in any case: "Parenthood" is the film I would put on board. I can't think of any film more suited to giving an impression of 20th century humans.