Parenthood (1989) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Ron Howard

Starring:  Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Dianne Wiest, Rick Moranis, Harley Jane Kozak, Dennis Dugan, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Joaquin (Leaf) Phoenix

Parenthood is a Ron Howard-directed comedy containing universal truths about relationships.     Not necessarily just between parent and child, but between siblings and spouses as well.      We see the crises arise and handled deftly and honestly.     Not every story has a happy ending, but we know this family will be ok.   

Howard employs excellent actors in telling the stories of the Buckmans, led by patriarch Frank (Robards), who was not the ideal father to Gil (Martin), Susan (Kozak), Helen (Wiest), and Larry (Hulce).    He was not abusive, but noticeably absent during their childhoods.     He put work first, which is something Gil in particular does not wish to do as he fights for a promotion at work.     Gil is married to Karen (Steenburgen) and has three children, with one in trouble at school due to behavioral issues.   Susan is married to Nathan (Moranis), who obsesses over the intelligence potential of their four-year old daughter.     The little girl knows square roots and karate, but can barely relate to other children.    Nathan has a game plan for his daughter that Susan would easily abandon.    

Helen's world is topsy-turvy as well.     She is divorced and has two children with whom she can not properly communicate.      Her son Garry (Phoenix) barely speaks to her and appears to be holding on to a great deal of resentment.      Her daughter Julie (Plimpton) is dating a guy named Todd (Reeves) that Helen can not stand.      They are in love and do things like take naked pictures of themselves that accidentally fall into mom's hands.    ("There are so many things that bother me about this that I don't know how to separate them.")

Then there is Larry, who returns to the scene after a three-year absence still chasing dubious get-rich quick schemes and falling deeper and deeper into debt to gamblers who are not against dishing out physical pain.    When Larry is thrown out of a moving car in front of Frank's house, he tries to play it off like he was with friends.     Frank replies, "Friends slow down.    They even stop."    Yet Frank holds out hope that Larry will turn things around.     It is clear that Larry is his favorite, perhaps because he is the youngest child.      The other siblings aren't nearly as hopeful.    "Whatever you do, don't give him any money," Gil tells his son.     Larry is also the father of a young boy named Cool, who represents not only another grandchild for Frank, but, as things play out, another chance for Frank to redeem himself as a parent.   

The relationship between Frank and Larry is dealt with on a more dramatic level than the other stories, which are lighter and comic in nature.   Larry is obviously a degenerate gambler who puts himself in danger to the gangsters.   Frank is distraught and wants to help him.   He has a heart-to-heart with Gil that expresses this conflict.   It is a warm, touching scene.   When Frank offers Larry his help, he is heartbroken as Larry once again disappoints him.   Another warm, touching scene with a great payoff involving Cool.  

The people in Parenthood are decent and mostly sweet.     The tone is just right.    The actors are easily adept at comedy and drama, sometimes in the same scene.     Steve Martin was not a parent when this film was released.    In fact, he only recently became a father for the first time.     But he seems to have great instincts and is right at home as the caring dad who wants to avoid being like his father.      Robards is a master, showing why his children were right about him, and why they were wrong as well.     I also enjoyed Wiest (in an Oscar-nominated performance) as the harried mother just trying to hold it all together and keep her family moving forward after a bitter divorce.     "Sometimes you just have to say 'the hell with him'", she tells Garry in a rare moment of candor between the two.  

You don't have to be a parent to appreciate what Parenthood has to offer.    Its themes and situations are easily relatable and identifiable.     Thank goodness it was not paced or directed as heavy-handed drama.    Howard sees truth in comedy.    People can just as easily understand things while laughing at the same time.     Maybe even more so than one would expect.