Caught on Film
What's your favorite movie about family life?
They made a movie of it, you know. Parenthood. That is the actual name of the movie, too. It stars Steve Martin.
I put a DVD of it in my cyber-shopping cart just before I checked out. A Christmas present for me. I happen to love this movie. Not only because it is so funny but on many levels, it is true-to-life. The depiction of not-so-perfect families is reassuring in a way. Also, there is a fair treatment of how the best intentions and love of a parent can still fall a little short.
I think what I like best about it is it’s a movie about parents trying. Trying to be good spouses, good caretakers, good mothers and fathers and sometimes getting it right and sometimes not. And we all have those days when we feel competent raising our kids and other days when we can’t seem to figure out where we went wrong.
I don’t know if put in the situations the movie revolves around if I would make the same choices that the parents in the movie make but it is good food for thought. And the ending motif of a roller coaster ride is spot on. Because parenthood can be like a roller coaster – there are ups and downs, twists and turns, moments of calm and moments of sheer terror. When you have kids time can go by steadily, then suddenly speed up. It can be exhilarating and often hard to describe to those who have not experienced it. And certainly not for the faint of heart.
What is your favorite movie about family life?
