Parenthood is a movie which peeps into the parents-children relationship. It depicts what happens when parents in search of perfect children keep on objecting to different things in which their off springs indulge.

Director —Ron Howard

Writers ---Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel

Released — 2 nd August 1989

Genre ---Comedy/drama

Tagline ----It could happen to you

Star cast – Steve Martin (Gil Buckman); Dianne Wiest (Helen Buckman);

Dennis Dugan (David Brodsky); Mary Steenburgen (Karen Buckman);

Paul Linke (George Bowman); Jason Robards (Frank Buckman);

Rick Moranis (Nathan Huffner); Tom Hulce (Larry Buckman);

Martha Plimpton (Julie Buckman); Keanu Reeves (Tod Higgins);

Harley Jane Kozak (Susan Buckman); Joaquin Phoenix (Garry Buckman); Eileen Ryan (Marilyn Buckman); Helen Shaw (Grandma);

Plot

The movie tells an engrossing story of dysfunctional Buckman family whose dysfunctions are normally related to the way their parents raised them. To make up for the faults committed early on, the parents in an endeavor to come with” perfect kids”, try to raise them in a “perfect manner”. It is here that the conflicts of parents and the kids come up.

The movie ‘Parenthood’ shows that Gil and Karen Buckman were so overconcerned about their son Kevin (Jasen Fisher) that their son was forced to undergo therapy. Helen Buckman (Dianne Wiest) acts as a female chauvinist .Her attitude leads her teenage daughter to marry early. She also leads to create a distance between herself and her son. The story also talks about Nathan and Susan who want to see their kids some sort of child prodigies: and Larry, who doesn’t want anything to do with her son. Above all is their father Frank (Jason Roberts) who is a soft from inside in the garb a tough from outside. The film ‘Parenthood’, has a sentimental end with the next generation of Buckman children coming up and parents eventually maturing as parents. Grandfather Frank is shown loving and cuddling his grandson cool implying that he had mended his ways. So the movie sends through a message that in spite of all the intriguing problems of a family, one should feel better being part of the family instead of getting away from it. That each parent has his/her parental insecurities and problems but overcoming them should be ultimate goal.