Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Parenthood Blu-ray Movie Review

All Families Are Unhappy (But Not Really)

Reviewed by Michael Reuben March 10, 2012

According to a famous line from Tolstoy (in Anna Karenina), happy families are all alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. In his 1989 film Parenthood, Ron Howard effectively reformulated Tolstoy as follows: Every family is unhappy, because every parent (especially dads) feels like they're always falling short, and their kids are always judging them—if not directly by what they say, then indirectly by what they do (or fail at). Much of the film is drawn from Howard's own life as a parent with young children and that of his producing partner, Brian Grazer, as well as those of writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. It's a gentle film and primarily a comedy whose dysfunctional crew manages to muddle through together (with the exception of a father-son relationship that ends badly). Howard and his collaborators left the heavy stuff to the likes of P.T. Anderson and Francis Ford Coppola ("I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart"), not to mention Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams.

Parenthood explores the family life of three generations of the Buckmans, who live in the St. Louis vicinity. (The film was actually shot in and around Orlando, Florida.) Writers Ganz and Mandel acknowledge the influence on the script of Hannah and Her Sisters, and indeed Parenthood shares with Woody Allen's masterpiece the same fluid movement between large group scenes and intimate encounters involving a few characters. But Howard's film is much more charitable and optimistic. There's no one in it as reckless as Michael Caine's Elliot, as misanthropic as Max von Sydow's Frederick, or as morbid as Allen's Mickey.

But there's plenty of good old-fashioned angst, and much of it courses through the nervous system of Gil Buckman (Steve Martin), the elder son of a gruff, hard-drinking father, Frank (Jason Robards), who wasn't much of a dad. Gil and his two sisters, Helen (Dianne Wiest) and Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), all have their own young children now. Each in their way is trying to be a good parent—and they all feel like they're failing. Gil and his wife, Karen (Mary Steenburgen), juggle the demands of two young sons and a daughter, but Gil feels like he's perpetually short-changing all of them. He's especially troubled as he sees his eldest, Kevin (Jasen Fisher), becoming needy and high-strung, in ways that remind him all too much of his younger self. Gil keeps pushing the kid to be more "normal", taking him to ball games as his own father never did, coaching Little League, and throwing great birthday parties, but it isn't enough. When Gil and Karen are summoned to a meeting with Kevin's school principal and told their son has to be transferred to a "special education" school, Gil is crushed. (It doesn't help that he has his own problems at work with an obnoxious boss (Dennis Dugan)).

Helen is coping with the aftermath of a bitter divorce from a dentist who remarried, started a new family and doesn't want to know the old one. This has left Helen with the impossible job of playing both parents to a teenage son, Gary (Joaquin Phoenix, appearing under the name "Leaf"), who is traumatized by his father's rejection. As for Helen's older child, eighteen-year-old Julie (Martha Plimpton), she's growing up at warp speed, courtesy of boyfriend Tod (Keanu Reeves), whom Helen detests. (She calls him "that Tod".) Every time Helen thinks it's over between her daughter and Tod, she's shocked to discover that things have progressed further. It's hardly a spoiler to reveal that she's a grandma by the end of the film.

The younger sister, Susan, is married to Nathan Huffner (Rick Moranis), who is lavishing all his attention on their small daughter, Patty (Ivyann Schwan), but not in the usual way. Nathan wants to turn Patty into an overachieving genius, and so he's already drilling her on math, chemistry and other advanced subjects—no play and no goofing around. Meanwhile, Susan wants to have more children, and Nathan won't even discuss the subject.

The fourth Buckman child is Larry (Tom Hulce), who waltzes in one day unannounced with a young boy in tow whom he introduces as his son, Cool (Alex Burrall), of whose existence he just learned. Papa Frank lights up at Larry's arrival for reasons that only gradually emerge over the course of the film as we get to know the family history—and the film's darkest scenes are those in which Frank realizes that Larry has become the quintessence of all Frank's worst qualities, unchecked by any of the virtues that kept him married to his wife, Marilyn (Eileen Ryan), or make him a half-decent grandpa. (In the extras, Tom Hulce relates how many of the scenes between Larry and Frank were added to the script after the writers watched him and Jason Robards read together. They're the best dramatic scenes in the film.)

But it's Steve Martin's Gil who keeps the film centered, and it's hard to imagine another actor who could have pulled off the unique balance of dramatic weight and comic ingenuity that gives Parenthood its special quality. In the first part of the film, when Gil's son misses a fly ball in a Little League game, you can see the pain on Martin's face as Gil tries to comfort the boy. Later, though, when Kevin makes a successful catch, Martin has Gil do a happy dance that he refused to show director Howard beforehand, because he wanted it to be a surprise. It's pure Steve Martin, but nothing could better express the exuberance any father would feel at that moment.

Parenthood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Since Parenthood is a Universal catalogue title, someone is already unhappy with this review. Displeasure begins with the video score, and many readers never proceed further, even though the write-up in this section is essential to interpreting the score. Whenever a reviewer rates a Universal catalogue title too highly, someone cries foul, because it's an a priori certainty that Universal always "butchers" its catalogue. But the very same rating may draw criticism from the other direction, e.g., "It looks good on my set, and it's light years ahead of the DVD. Maybe the reviewer's screen is too big!"

Cinematographer Donald McAlpine can do lush, rich cinematography as well as anyone, as demonstrated by his work on Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet. But McAlpine's photography for Parenthood is as low-key and everyday as it comes, and that's what you get on Universal's 1080p, VC-1-encoded Blu-ray. The colors are distinct and varied, but they're rarely rich or heavily saturated. The detail is good enough to let one appreciate, as never before since the film was in theaters, such minutia as the goofily makeshift cowboy outfit that Gil has to throw together for Kevin's party, when "Cowboy Bob" doesn't show. Black levels are generally strong, although scenes calling for deep black are rare, and contrast isn't overstated. The film grain appears to be undisturbed by high-frequency filtering or other digital manipulation, and the use of a BD-50 has eliminated any risk of compression errors.

The sole negative in the video presentation is a hint, a tinge, a soupçon of oversharpening that makes the texture of the presentation lean slightly more toward a video than a film-like appearance. It's a minor quibble and not enough to make a meaningful difference in the video rating.

Parenthood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Parenthood was released in Dolby stereo, and the 5.1 remix presented here in DTS-HD MA takes a conservative approach but still makes good use of the surround field at a few key moments. Chief among them is the climactic scene at a school play that doesn't go according to plan, where Gil Buckman has one of the fantasy visions that punctuate the film, revealing major truths to both Gil and the audience. This one is accompanied by the sound of a roller coaster, which can be heard coursing through the rear speakers. (The significance of the roller coaster is explained in a prior scene.) Kevin Buckman's Little League games and birthday party also provide occasions for use of the rear channels, but the sound design was never intended to have you looking over your shoulder, and the remix doesn't go overboard. The dialogue—frustrated, rueful, bitter, angry or, in the case of Tom Hulce's Larry, just plain false—is always clear, and Randy Newman's fine score floats above the proceedings like a distant and wise relation, the unseen Buckman who loves everyone and forgives them all.

Parenthood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements marked with an asterisk have been ported over from the 2007 "Special Edition" DVD.

• *Art Imitating Life (SD; 1.33:1; 27:46): Howard, Grazer, Ganz and Mandel discuss the origin, development and themes of the film. Among other things, they relate original stories from their lives that ended up in the film.


• *Family Reunion (SD; 1.33:1; 19:20): Jane Jenkins discusses casting the film, and many of the cast discuss their roles. Some of the interviews date from the film's production, and some are obviously from a later era.


• *Words and Music (SD; 1.33:1; 6:23): Randy Newman discusses scoring the film.


• *Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1.33:1; 1:30). The trailer uses footage that did not appear in the completed film and appears to have been shot specifically for the trailer.


• 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era (HD, 1080p; 1.78:1; 8:50): A biographical sketch of the legendary agent and studio head.


• 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters (HD, 1080p; various; 8:18): Some of your favorites will be included; some will be omitted.


• pocketBLU
• My Scenes
• BD-Live

Parenthood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Parenthood has a devoted fan base, and with good reason. Its director, producer, writers and ensemble cast collectively poured into the film lifetimes of experience about the mysteries of family life, and the resulting product has a ring of authenticity that viewers recognize even when the events on screen are exaggerations for comic effect. The fears and uncertainties to which Gil Buckman gives such eloquent expression have afflicted every responsible parent in many dark and doubting moments, and Parenthood offers a kind of qualified reassurance that, yes, despite all those moments, it is possible, for the most part to muddle through. Sometimes, as Frank does with Larry, you'll have no choice but to sigh, give up and move on. Generally, though, it's worth it. Recommended.