Director: Ron Howard
Year Released: 1989
Rating: 1.5
Uneasy mix of sociology and "humor" - ha, ha, the little girl knows the square root of a large number, har har she reads Kafka, ho ho people always leave dildos in their living room, tee hee, that kid just threw up on her father - that is trying to say what Time and The New York Times and sociologists have been harping on all along: the importance of fathers in their families (to paraphrase Grandma, old and packed with wisdom, "Marriage is like a roller coaster"). Stuck in between the commentary on parenting and the plot contrivances, there are a few select scenes that feel absolutely genuine, and Steve Martin and Dianne Wiest are fun and sympathetic as two completely baffled people trying to make sense of their kids. Howard gives us an easy ending where most all the problems are temporarily solved (or cleverly averted) by having the female characters of appropriate age giving birth almost simultaneously (as if increasing family size decreases problems).
