Parenthood [WS] [Special Edition]

Director: Ron Howard Ron Howard

Overview

This feel-good ensemble comedy tracks a quartet of suburban siblings and their families over the course of a single summer. Hardworking Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his stay-at-home wife, Karen (Mary Steeenburgen), have just a few months to help their oldest son, Kevin (Jasen Fisher), overcome his high-strung behavior problems before he'll be relegated to special-education classes. Gil's difficult relationship with his own father, Frank (Jason Robards), has led him to become a would-be super-dad for his three kids, so he takes his son's difficulties more than a little personally. Gil's sister, Helen (Dianne Wiest), is trying to raise a moody, adolescent son (Leaf Phoenix) and an independent-minded daughter (Martha Plimpton) with no help from her well-off ex-husband, who's more interested in his new wife and family. Gil and Helen's sister, Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), meanwhile, must participate in the too-scripted Big Life Plans of her anal-retentive husband, Nathan (Rick Moranis), whose overachiever zeal infects even their toddler daughter. When long-lost brother Larry (Tom Hulce) show up with yet another get-rich-quick scheme, he brings with him a surprise addition to the family. Screenwriters Babaloo Mandel, Lowell Ganz, and Ron Howard negotiate their varied subplots with a deftness and comedic touch that transforms this conflicted clan into a suburban everyfamily.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/24/2007
UPC:	0025193236524
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:09:00
Sales rank:	6,769

Special Features

Art Imitating Life; Family Reunion; Words and Music

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Steve Martin	Gil
Mary Steenburgen	Karen
Dianne Wiest	Helen
Rick Moranis	Nathan
Tom Hulce	Larry
Martha Plimpton	Julie
Keanu Reeves	Tod
Harley Kozak	Susan,Susan Buckman
Dennis Dugan	David
Eileen Ryan	Marilyn
Helen Shaw	Grandma
Jasen Fisher	Kevin
Paul Linke	George Bowman
Alisan Porter	Taylor
Zachary LaVoy	Justin
Ivyann Schwan	Patty
Alex Burrall	Cool
Lowell Ganz	Stan
Rance Howard	Dean at College,Lou,Actor
Max Elliott Slade	Young Gil
Lamont Lofton	Fotomat Clerk
Erika Rafuls	Amy
Jordan Kessler	Matt
Billy Cohen	Eddie
Isabel Cooley	Barbara Rice,Barbara Rice
Greg Gerard	Doctor Lucas
Paul Keeley	Kevin (age 21)
Walter von Bonhorst	Opposing Coach
W. Bruce O'Donoghue	Umpire
Sherry Ferguson	Screaming Co-ed
Todd Hallowell	Track Official
Maxie Pontius	Safety Man at Track
Richard Kuhlman	Young Frank
Lloyd Cleek	Miles
Dana Mark	Audrey
Steve Zurk	Highway Policeman
Emil Felski	Doctor at Hospital
Charmin Talbert	Nurse at Hospital
Julie Lander	Student in Hallway
Janet Moore	Irate Woman in Audience
Connie Adams	Cindy
Claudio Jacobells	Student 1 at College
Hilary Matthews	Student 2 at College
Jonathan Bouck	Dwarf,Dwarf
Michael Mickens	Dwarf
Aspen Autrey	Dwarf
Louisa Marie	Woman Teacher No. 1
Cindi Vicino	Woman Teacher No. 2
Joaquin Phoenix	Garry
Janet Hirshenson	Actor
Jane Jenkins	Actor
Walter Von	Opposing Coach
Jason Robards	Actor
Randy Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

Ron Howard

Lowell Ganz

Babaloo Mandel

Ron Howard	Director,Screenwriter
Lowell Ganz	Screenwriter
Babaloo Mandel	Screenwriter
Joseph M. Caracciolo	Executive Producer,Producer
Brian Grazer	Producer
Janet Hirshenson	Casting
Jane Jenkins	Casting
Artie Malesci	Stunts
Kevin Cerchiai	Sound Effects
Kevin Harris	Special Effects
Bob Cooper	Special Effects
Robert Jauregui	Stunts
Richard S. Church	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This fond and funny look at the travails of an extended middle-class family succeeds on the strength of its fine ensemble acting and the warm humor of its polished, only occasionally mawkish script. Director and co-writer Ron Howard, no stranger to blockbusters, guided Steve Martin to one of his biggest grosses -- and one of his most restrained, least wild-and-crazy performances -- by surrounding him with seasoned pros (Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis) and placing the frequent belly laughs in a believable emotional context. Dianne Wiest is particularly fine as the divorced, romantically frustrated single mom coming to terms with the burgeoning sexuality of her own children (Martha Plimpton, Leaf Phoenix), while old trooper Helen Shaw, as the brood's grandmother, strikes a precise balance between goofy and wise. The film's sweet-and-sour view of parenting may be idealized and its many subplots a little too easily resolved, but most critics and audiences found the combination of suburban angst, heartwarming characterizations, and bawdy humor irresistible. Rarely has a modern Hollywood comedy been so simultaneously poignant and hilarious.