Parenthood
Short description
Parenthood follows Gil Buckman, a man determined to raise his three children differently from the way he was brought up, while also holding down a demanding career and being a devoted husband to Karen. Around him, his extended family faces its own trials: a divorced sister coping with two adolescents, another sister married to an overbearing intellectual who is already grooming their toddler for greatness, and a younger brother who turns up only when he needs money. Gil's own son's troubles leave him feeling helpless, and the film moves between the comic and the painful as the Buckmans discover that children rarely turn out as planned.
Ron Howard directed the sixth of his thirty-two films to date, arriving between Willow and Backdraft, from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and produced by Brian Grazer. Steve Martin leads as Gil, with Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis and Tom Hulce among the forty credited cast members.
Released in July 1989, the film cost around 20 million dollars and returned roughly 126 million worldwide, a strong result for a comedy drama of its kind. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from about 59,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 from far fewer votes. A critics' rating of 7.6 from sixty reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the recollections of director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel about their own parenting experiences.
- Helen Shaw's final on-screen appearance. The actress passed away in 1997 at the age of 100.
- According to director Ron Howard, the episode featuring the discovery of compromising photographs is based on something that actually happened to producer Brian Grazer.
- During filming, the cast became engrossed in a game of "murder" (a game in which the seeker, or murderer, must find a way to "kill" the other players). This is evident in the scene at the table, where everyone is looking at each other, i.e., playing.
- Joaquin Phoenix (credited as Leaf Phoenix) had been homeless shortly before filming. His parents were followers of the "Children of God" cult in the 1970s, and it was then that they changed their surname from "Bottom" to "Phoenix."
- The original script stated that Karen smoked a joint every evening. The actress who played the role, Mary Steenburgen, stated that this contradicted the nature of her character, who is strong enough to face the difficulties and complexities of her own family head-on. The filmmakers agreed and rewrote the script. Only a few hints remained in the film that she had smoked marijuana in the past.
- One of the baseball players in the opening scene in the park is visibly limping because he pulled a ligament during the filming of one of the first takes. The footage included in the film was chosen after approximately twenty takes, all because the batter couldn't hit the ball where it needed to go (he was a college player, not a professional).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
