Parenthood

Saw Parenthood, a dramedy about family which uses a sprawling four-family clan to examine all kinds of family dynamics and interlocking, ramshackle dysfunction. It starts out in the throes of deeply squirmy problems. All of the women are high-stung tyrants, shrieking with embarrassment or bellowing orders, the men all sneering and aloof, knowing what's best but not raising a finger to help out. There's jokes thrown in to lighten the mood but most of them are at the expense of the characters which is not the most helpful. I mean, am I supposed to like these people or not? I think I'm meant to be wisely contemptuous of them, nodding my head at their folly like a grandmother listening to the failures of her offspring.

The film is off-kilter and hilarious at moments but becomes increasingly sincere. As the film goes on, soon the only jokes are bitter asides thrown out during arguments. I actually found those moments of pure drama far more bearable than the treacly jokes of the early film, but that's my problem I think. Again, feel bad for these characters, each with their own private hell. The point of the film is these hells are all worth it for the richness it brings to our lives. This is not bad advice for life in general, not just about families.

Anyway, I found the film pretty bumpy. It was very embarrassing and difficult to watch. The ending, when everyone's starting to get along a bit better, redeems the film a bit but oh boy those early scenes. About a fourth of the way through the film I decided I hated most of the characters, only for them to charm me later on. It's a heart-warming film with some bitter jokes added in. Most of the jokes require the characters to be jerks and I think this is a weakness.