Friday Film Noir
Parenthood (1989) is a fantastic comedy-drama directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film follows the interconnected lives of the extended Buckman family, focusing on their varied and often chaotic experiences with parenting. Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) is a conscientious father who is terrified of repeating the emotional neglect he felt from his own father, Frank (Jason Robards). Gil and his wife Karen (Mary Steenburgen) struggle with the fears of raising their three children, particularly their intense and neurotic son.
The idea for the film came from real-life experiences of director Ron Howard and writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. They would share stories about their children, which formed the basis for many of the film's vignettes. The famous "roller coaster" speech that the family's great-grandmother gives was based on a real story told by Ron Howard's own grandmother. Keanu Reeves's role as Tod Higgins was originally much smaller, but he impressed filmmakers so much during production that his part was significantly expanded. The film also features a brief, uncredited appearance by Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, as a child in the audience of a play.
The main themes of Parenthood revolve around the messy, imperfect, and unpredictable nature of family and life in general. It poignantly captures the universal anxieties parents feel about whether they are "doing it right" while humorously suggesting that no one ever truly is. The film received two Academy Award nominations: Dianne Wiest for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Randy Newman for Best Original Song for "I Love to See You Smile."
