Gary Goldberg's Dad only got Oscar recognition with a nomination for makeup. Surely deserved in the way Jack Lemmon was transformed into a henpecked old codger. But surely Lemmon and Ted Danson playing his son merited some Oscar consideration in 1989. So does Olympia Dukakis playing the mother.Dad is a wonderful study of the issues in being a senior citizen and now that I am one can appreciate more now than in 1989 when it first came out. From the first you see that it's Dukakis wearing the pants in the family as they go grocery shopping. But when Olympia has a heart attack in the supermarket, Lemmon is kind of left to his own devices.The children, Kathy Baker and Kevin Spacey, help to some degree. But it's there third brother who works for an investment firm who really pitches in. Ted Danson is a kind of Gordon Gekko of the West Coast, but as he pitches in and helps the two really connect and reestablish a relationship. I did love the scene where Lemmon just sits in on a board meeting comprehending more than Danson realizes about what he does for a living.Ever since Lemmon retired from Lockheed years it's Dukakis who has become the dominant one. No longer earning and kind of under foot he becomes just an appendage. She treats him like a child.Soon enough the roles are reversed. She comes home and he's diagnosed with cancer. The family then goes into crisis mode.Dad has a nice constructed story with very well developed characters with the exception of Kevin Spacey who is given little to do with his role. Ethan Hawke is also in the film as Danson's son who has always had a great relationship with his grandfather. Jack Lemmon was 66 when he made the film. But with makeup he looks more 86 and really makes you believe it in his performance. A whole lot like his buddy Walter Matthau when he starred in Kotch.Dad is a wonderful film for the family about a family named Tremont.

not nice, not inspired, not beautiful or a good role for Jack Lemmon. but an useful film. useful for remind old, elementary fashion things about family links. useful for remind the role of miracles and the essence of freedom. useful for the viewer who rediscover memories about parents. useful and profound touching. sure, it is a good occasion for remind experiences from past for the survivors of them. for many - only a sentimental drama with few drops of comedy. sure, it is far to be a masterpiece. but important is its small status to remind the essence of family life not only as fruit of Christmas or another significant event but as root of everyday existence. short, three generations of good actors - few extraordinaries and a very useful story.

The latest (at the time) in a saccharin trend of kinder, gentler movies celebrating family values and filial responsibilities stars Ted Danson as a well-to-do yuppie who becomes reacquainted with his elderly, fragile father (Jack Lemmon) after his overworked mother suffers a mild heart attack. As might be expected the film has potential for turning maudlin at every change of scene (especially when every change of scene is set in a hospital), but each tear-jerking plot twist is handled with care and held in check by more than one notable performance: Danson, in particular, plays the dutiful son with a low-key skill in every way the equal of an old pro like Lemmon. In between the heart attack and the recovery room and the cancer ward (and so forth and so on) the script can be too aggressively tender, but by the not unexpected conclusion the film has built up enough surplus emotional depth to make any shortcoming easier to forgive.

This movie hits, it hits very hard. No one is let off easy in this film about an old man (played to perfection by Jack Lemmon) who has his wife do everything for him. BUt his wife has a heart attack and is put in the hospital. His son (Ted Danson) has to return home to take care of his father. What comes from there is an adventure that will warm you heart as fast as it will break it. Jack Lemmon is very believeable as the father that you will believe that he actually is 85 years old and Ten Danson has never been better in a film. This film devlves into hard topics such as divorce, marraige and family relationships and none of these subjects are delt with lightly and is sure to bring a tear to the eye of everyone whether you can realte to these characters or not.