3.5/4  Highly Underrated, one of Howard's best
This is actually my favorite Ron Howard movie. i think a lot of people either missed this one or overlooked it thinking it was a family comedy. It totally isn't. It's a comedy/drama about a family but when I saw this when I was younger ... (read full)

3.5/4  Parenthood Quick Review
This is such a great show! The stellar cast delivers fantastic comedic performances. There are several great lines in the movie and it gets funnier every time you watch it.

5/5 GREAT FAMILY MOVIE
  by DOLLY/AMAZON USER (MN)
Parenthood (Special Edition)

Great service from Amazon, as always!!!!
Super good family movie!!

3/5 A lot of misery for a comedy
  by Holly Kincaid (Fishers, IN USA)
I am definitely in the minority here, but for me this movie didn't work. The cast is incredible and the acting is really, really good but I just didn't find the situations that funny. Steve Martin is one of my favorite actors and I enjoyed watching him as well as all the other siblings as they interacted. The acting alone would have lead me to give a 5-star rating.

What bothered me was so many of the "humorous" situations weren't humorous. The disfunction in many cases was so over the top as to be bothersome -- one character was such a juvenile delinquent and so messed up that you could envision him taking a gun to school and opening fire (I didn't find that funny).

TO PARENTS: Everyone describes this as good, clean fun and while that is true for parts of the movie, it often was anything but clean. There are multiple scenes in the movie that are totally inappropriate for kids and I was caught off-guard by that. I watched this with my family (including my 14-year-old) and we ended up fast-forwarding through some sections since the topics were very racy and VERY graphic.

Wanted to like it, but didn't.

5/5 Forget "Cheaper By The Dozen"; this one's the real deal!
  by Randy E. Halford (Boise, ID)
This has become one of my favorite Ron Howard films. Steve Martin has done family fare before--such as the recent "Cheaper By The Dozen" films--but "Parenthood" seems closer to reality as it chronicles the successes & failures of family life. Martin is brilliant as usual as a man struggling to juggle his job with parenting...and failing spectacularly as it so often happens in real life. Martin gets first billing, but he is supported by a superb supporting cast. Dysfunction runs rampant among brothers, sisters, children, parents & grandparents. There is much to laugh at, and much to identify with. Martin's character declares at one point that "life is so messy". How true! And Mary Steenburgen's character later counters with: "What do you want? Guarantees?" Also so true. The film's script seems to just say that life is what it is, and you can only do what you can as a parent.
Funny, touching and insightful...and boosted by many terrific performances.

5/5 Satisfied customer
  by Reviewer22 (Colorado)

Great movie delivered on time and in promised condition (and sold for a reasonable price).

5/5 Parenthood: have enjoyed both the movie and the experience!
  by Diane Prentice (Coquitlam, BC Canada)
I enjoyed this movie when it first came out and it is still one that I like to watch periodically (which is why I owned it on VHS and now on DVD). The cast is great, the performaces good (despite that one over-the-top Steve Martin scene)and it is generally a joy to watch.
Like the experience of being a parent, it has both high and low moments. At times thought provoking, "Parenthood" strikes a good emotional balance.