Driving by his deep love for his children, Gil Buckman, a young smart man, does his best to raise his two smart kids, as he seeks to be the best father for them, but he doesn't know how.
Parenthood easily could have focused exclusively on yuppie parents and their kids; however, the script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel is more sophisticated than that, remembering that every parent is still a child too.
This feel-good family ensemble piece from director Ron Howard manages to avoid being oversentimental, and the result is an affectionate, leisurely comedy about the joys (and otherwise) of bringing up children.
It's hard to imagine a theme more universal and filled with human pitfalls than parenthood. And it's hard to imagine a movie treatment of that theme more humane and filled with gentle sympathy than director Ron Howard's Parenthood.
This movie has its share of laughs, but it's also Ron Howard's most personal film, and clearly his most ambitious.
Candice Russell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 31, 2013
As Parenthood reveals within its charming, two-hour running time, the pitfalls and quandaries of child-rearing are universal -- and the joys and the heartaches remain lifelong concerns.
Ambitiously probing every anxiety-ridden corner of the suburban mum-and-dad experience, some of its interconnecting story strands work better than others.
