Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, the 'black sheep' of the family, the eccentrics, the skeletons in the closet, and the rebellious teenagers.
Parenthood is an ensemble comedy-drama that leans heavily on its cast to elevate fairly familiar material. Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, and Jason Robards anchor a sprawling multigenerational story with genuine warmth and skill — the acting is the clear standout. The plot covers well-trodden family dysfunction territory without much surprise, cycling through recognizable sitcom-adjacent situations, and Ron Howard's direction is competent but visually unremarkable. The film doesn't bring much that's distinctly new to the suburban family comedy genre, feeling more like a polished execution of familiar tropes than a singular vision. The ending wraps things up with a crowd-pleasing uplift that, while earned emotionally, leans into sentimentality rather than earned resolution.