Parenthood

Parenthood (1989) is a comedy-drama from Universal Pictures and Ron Howard you can watch online on iFILM. The cast alone is worth showing up for: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce — plus early appearances by Keanu Reeves and a teenage Joaquin Phoenix.

The Buckman family spans three generations, and every branch is a mess in its own way. Gil is convinced that being a perfect father is just a matter of effort — his kids keep proving otherwise. His sister Helen is raising two teenagers solo; one won't speak, the other secretly married a guy who barely functions. Brother Larry blows back into town broke, dragging along a kid nobody knew he had. Their father Frank watches all of it from a distance and quietly wonders where he went wrong. At 124 minutes, the film never drags.

Ron Howard earned two Academy Award nominations for the picture — Best Supporting Actress for Dianne Wiest and Best Original Song. The film earned over $126 million at the box office on a $20 million budget. What Howard built here is a comedy that keeps the jokes coming but never lets you forget that parenting is mostly improvised, always high-stakes, and occasionally ridiculous. Stream Parenthood (1989) online on iFILM.