Film

Parenthood

Name: Parenthood
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1989
Cast: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis

Other titles called Parenthood: the 2010 series (NBC).

Family drama

A sprawling comedy-drama about three generations of the Buckman family navigating parenthood in all its forms. Chaotic, tender, and deeply funny, it finds both the comedy and real stakes in raising kids, dealing with aging parents, and the ways family love survives dysfunction. For anyone who's felt overwhelmed by responsibility or recognized themselves in a relative's chaos.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like ensemble comedies where funny and painful sit close together, watching a crowded family wrestle with ordinary parenting worries with more warmth than cynicism.

Skip it if you want a tight, plotted story, since this is a long, loosely stitched run of overlapping household crises that wanders and sometimes lets a subplot sag.

What it asks of you: Patience with a sprawling cast and a runtime just over two hours; it moves from one household to the next, gentle rather than frantic, and lets small scenes breathe.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

It's a Wonderful Life1946

A different kind of family epic—one that asks what your life means by showing you its absence. Like Parenthood, it finds profound emotion in ordinary relationships and small-town interdependence, without ever feeling sentimental.

But It's in black and white, moves slowly by modern standards, and leans hard into sentiment in ways that can feel dated. Some find it saccharine rather than moving.

Terms of Endearment1983

The gold standard for multigenerational family drama with real comedy threaded through. Same DNA as Parenthood—messy love, parental anxiety, sibling dynamics—but with an even sharper edge and genuine romantic complication.

But It carries genuine tragedy. If you want your comedy untouched by serious loss, this will catch you off guard.

The Pursuit of Happyness2006

Single father, struggling harder than Steve Martin's Gil, but the core is identical: watching a parent desperate to provide and be present for their child. It's funny in moments but earns every laugh by building from real strain.

But The earnestness borders on manipulative, and it resolves too neatly. Some will find it emotionally obvious compared to Parenthood's messiness.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Parenthood

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Raising Arizona1987

Both films understand that the drive to parent is not rational—it's primal and sometimes ridiculous. Parenthood plays it straight; this one lets it get weird and still land.

The Coen Brothers' cartoon-logic riff on parenthood and desperation. Nicolas Cage as a violent man desperate to be a father, Holly Hunter as his ex-cop partner—it's absurd and anarchic but completely serious about the longing underneath.

But It's deliberately cartoonish in a way that repels people who want emotional realism. The tone is aggressively weird, and Cage's performance is not for everyone.

About a Boy2002

A man forced into parental responsibility discovers it transforms him. Smarter and funnier than it has any right to be, with genuine warmth underneath the irony—exactly Parenthood's balance.

But The opening narration is glib, and if you hate the Hugh Grant persona, nothing here will change your mind.

Kramer vs. Kramer1979

Divorce and single parenthood played as both comedy and tragedy. The film trusts you to laugh at domestic absurdity while understanding the real stakes of custody and competence.

But It's very much a product of 1979—the gender politics haven't aged gracefully, and it's more sobering than fun.

Life as a House2001

A dying father and his estranged son rebuilding a house is the metaphor, but what matters is watching a parent try to fix things before it's too late. Parenthood in its most vulnerable form.

But Kevin Kline's earnestness can feel suffocating, and the film is relentlessly tragic. There's little comedy to balance the weight.

Stepmom1998

Blended family chaos: two women loving the same children, trying not to destroy each other. It's funny about the logistics of parenting and surprisingly unsentimental about remarriage.

But Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon's chemistry is professional rather than warm, and the film lurches toward melodrama in its final act.

Dan in Real Life2007

Multi-generational family gathering in Rhode Island, with real warmth and comedy. It understands that family is where you're most likely to be both understood and exasperated.

But It's slight and occasionally precious. If you're looking for real conflict, it smooths everything into feel-good contentment.

3 Men and a Baby1987

Three bachelors forced into parenting plays parenthood as physical comedy and genuine cluelessness. It's lighter than Parenthood but speaks to the same sense of being bewildered by responsibility.

But It's very 1987, and the humor dates noticeably. The emotional beats are thin compared to the slapstick.

Moonlight2016

Parenthood is about how families fail their children and try anyway. Moonlight is the child's side of that story—what it means to survive a family that cannot hold you. It's the question Parenthood asks from the other direction.

Three chapters of a Black man's life from childhood through adulthood, each filmed differently. It's about identity and survival and the few people who showed up. No plot, just the weight of living and being seen.

But It's slow, fragmented, and asks you to find meaning in silences. Some will find it frustratingly opaque, and there's no comedy anywhere.