Parenthood

THE BUCKMANS ARE A MODERN-DAY FAMILY FACING THE AGE-OLD DILEMMA OF TRYING TO RAISE CHILDREN THE RIGHT WAY. AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM IS GIL, WHO MANAGES TO KEEP HIS UNIQUE SENSE OF HUMOR WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MAINTAIN A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AND BE A LOVINGHUSBAND AND PARENT AT THE SAME TIME.

Ron Howard's 1989 hit, written by fellow family men Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, A League of Their Own), is an original comedy about contemporary life and the eternal responsibilities of raising children. Steve Martin has never been better than as a dedicated husband and father trying (and inevitably failing, as do most of us) to balance the demands of his kids and his job. The actor, like his character, throws himself into the part quite touchingly, never more so than in a scene where a hired clown fails to show up at a children's party and Martin's character unabashedly provides the entertainment. Good as Martin is, this is actually an ensemble piece with numerous actors playing members of the same family, with cross-generational joys and disappointments in the air--and parents in conflict, children in love, and so on. Jason Robards is very good as a patriarch who finally accepts the reality that the son he adores (Tom Hulce) is a major screwup. --Tom Keogh