Delayed Reaction: Parenthood

What I Guessed It Was About: The series is set in Berkeley, California on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay area, but is filmed primarily in Los Angeles. The show revolves around the Braverman family covering three generations. It features patriarch Zeek Braverman and matriarch Camille Braverman, and the families of their four children Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia. Adam is married to Kristina and has three children – Haddie, Max, and Nora. Sarah is divorced and has two children – Amber and Drew. Crosby marries Jasmine in season 3 and has two children – Jabbar and Aida. Julia is married to Joel and has two children – Sydney and their adopted son Victor.*

How I Came Into It: I really enjoyed the TV show with the same name (in case the previous section didn't suggest that enough). I like Ron Howard as a director. I like Steve Martin and I'm generally favorable toward everyone else I knew was in the cast. This has the odd distinction of being the highest grossing movie of my big list that I couldn't get through Netflix at all. That fact doesn't play into the movie at all. It's just weird.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I assumed the Parenthood TV show was based off the movie in name only, not from the entire structure of the movie. It was fun playing "who wore it better" with all the roles (the TV actors won in nearly every case due to having way more time to develop than the movie). This still works really well, distilled down two two hours of family dramedy. I was frustrated by most of the characters most of the time, but I understood why. Larry is a complete screw up, and I'm supposed to be annoyed by him. Gil is stressed about everything in his life because there's so much of it. Helen has to be everything (good and bad) for her kids because their father is an asshole who wants nothing to do with them. Ron Howard was on a roll for about a ten year stretch in the 80s and 90s.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: After watching the TV show, it's hard to not feel like the stories in the movie are under-cooked. Had I watched the movie first, I'd be pleased with how much they fit in. Instead, I'm thinking "season arc" or "they're only giving that one scene?". I'm kind of torn on the ending too. It's a nice and satisfying ending, but I can't help but notice that the solution to everyone's problems is to have another baby.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend