Director Ron Howard nailed family dysfunction and the difficulties of parenting with a warm and entertaining 1989 comedy called Parenthood.This episodic comedy centers on the Buckman family, led by one Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his wife Karen (Mary Steenburgen), who serve as the centerpiece for a dysfunctional family that includes Gil's hard-drinking father (Jason Robards), who took Gil to baseball games as a child and used to leave him alone and pay ushers to watch him. Dianne Wiest plays Gil's divorced sister, Helen, who is the mother of two teenagers, one a horny high-schooler (Martha Plimpton) sleeping with her boyfriend (Keanu Reeves) and the other (Joaquin Phoenix) wants to live with his father.Tom Hulce plays the proverbial black sheep brother who has returned home with an illegitimate son and a get rich quick plan. Rick Moranis is effectively cast against type as a stuffed shirt married to Gil's other sister (Harley Kozack) who is raising his toddler like she's a sophomore in college.The screenplay by longtime Howard collaborators Lowell Ganz and Babloo Mandel might play like an extended sitcom, but it is a very entertaining one, that provides consistent laughs without sacrificing realism or realistic situations. The screenplay is insightful and clever and well-served by Howard's hand-picked cast, who give uniformly fine performances down the line, with a standout performance from Wiest that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.Thanks to a smart screenplay, sensitive direction, some offbeat casting, and some fun performances, this is a very special comedy that got by a lot of people but is worth checking out. Later turned into a television series.

I think the movie can be summed up in a period near the end where the youngest child, thinking their sister is being attacked for real during a play, goes on stage and starts beating the 'bullies', biting the teacher trying to bring back control and completely causing chaos by starting the ruining of the set.I am a parent and realize what kind of work goes in to holding a play with many volunteer hours of work put in by teachers, staff, parents and of course, the children. When the above scene happens, the parents at first try to prevent their child from disturbing the play. They then become resigned to the fact that it will happen and accept it with smiles on their faces.This is really scratching the surface and not delving in to what is really going on. The director wants us to laugh at this situation but all I could do is be upset for the teacher, the students, the parents and anyone else involved in months of work coming to an epic failure. If you think this is funny, this movie is for you. If you don't, then don't bother watching this at all.

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.

Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) tries to be a better father than his own unavailable father. It's the funny story of the extended Buckman family from Ron Howard. Mary Steenburgen plays his wife. Dianne Wiest plays his single-mother sister. Rick Moranis and Harley Jane Kozak play the uptight parents. Tom Hulce is the black sheep of the family. The great list of actors include Joaquin Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, and Martha Plimpton.This is just a fun and insightful look at big family dynamics. It's got both pathos and comedy. This is possibly Ron Howard at his best. It would be easy to drive this multi character storyline chaos into an unmitigated mess. All the different characters could have been reduced to stereotypes. Instead these characters feel like they truly fit in a family. This is a great feel good movie.