Review: Dad

Tough family matriarch Olympia Dukakis has a fairly major heart attack, and as a result, the husband (Jack Lemmon) she has basically been looking after all these years must get used to looking after himself. The strict Dukakis has basically mapped out Lemmon’s entire day-to-day existence for him. Estranged businessman son Ted Danson comes home briefly to help dad re-adjust, but before long, elderly Lemmon is having a series of health crises of his own. In addition to cancer, the old man appears to be increasingly feeble-minded, reverting to a somewhat fantasy existence, perhaps as a result of the shock of the health problems of both himself and his wife. Doctor Zakes Mokae instructs the family to do their best to cope with this change in Lemmon’s behaviour, but stubborn, shrewish Dukakis is having none of it. Kathy Baker plays Danson’s sister, who had previously been helping look after them, whilst Danson was living his own busy life. Ethan Hawke is Danson’s own estranged son (to his ex-wife) who turns up when he hears the news. Kevin Spacey plays Baker’s husband and Dukakis’ least favourite son-in-law.

See, it’s times like this when I feel like I’ll never be taken seriously as a film critic. Every now and then, and I know I’m not alone here, I’ll see a film that despite some obvious shortcomings moves me on a personal level to a point where I’ll end up giving it a good grade, if not a great one. We all come to a film with our own personal baggage, and every now and then, a decent film will end up being more than that because one has related to it on a personal level where the film’s flaws don’t quite matter as much. A film like “My Life”, for instance, touched me more than such a formulaic film might otherwise because the subject matter was something very close to me. Such is definitely the case with this 1989 family drama (with comic moments) from writer-director Gary David Goldberg (creator of TV’s “Family Ties”). I’ve heard some call the film a bit sitcom-like, and although I think that’s a far to snarky and simplistic comment to make, the screenplay isn’t flawless. Some of the comic moments in the second half are a bit weak (including a montage of Lemmon wearing funny outfits), though it didn’t bother me as much as it has others. Some of the elements relating to illnesses are also a tad far-fetched as well, for anyone who has had family members in such similar circumstances (How the hell exactly did Lemmon manage to get himself under the bed?). Having said that, the rollercoaster ride the family has to go through with the change in Lemmon’s health, and the frustration and confusion that goes along with that is something I can attest to being true-to-life, at least to an extent.

However, I also think the film’s plot is needlessly busy, with both Dukakis (in a perfectly fine performance) and Lemmon having health problems. It also results in Dukakis ultimately not having much of a role, nor much screen time for great lengths. If Goldberg didn’t want her character to play much of a part in the film outside of being a catalyst, instead of merely having a health scare and kept in hospital for half the film, I feel the film would’ve been even better had Dukakis’ character died (I don’t mean to be heartless, by the way) early on in the film, or even died off-screen before the film began. Unless you write it yourself, you can’t have it all exactly true to your own life, but I definitely felt the Dukakis character was all shade and no light. I would’ve liked a scene or two where she showed a little more affection for at least someone in her family. That said, maybe this situation as it is, will have you responding to it more greatly than I. And to be honest, those are minor complaints in what is otherwise a very moving film that a lot of people will find something to relate to. I have had both cancer and dementia afflict my grandparents, for instance, though in my circumstance the roles were somewhat different/reversed.

Based on a William Wharton (“Birdy”, “A Midnight Clear”) novel, this film is a tearjerker, and if a tearjerker’s main purpose is to produce tears in an audience, then this film definitely succeeded with me. I’ve seen it twice, and boy did I cry like a baby both times. It’s one of the best in that regard, and whilst flawed, a good enough film that one doesn’t feel bad about being manipulated into crying. The film earns its tears, as far as I’m concerned, and after this directorial debut, I’m surprised Goldberg hasn’t worked much in cinema since.

As the son, grandson, and nephew of cancer sufferers, and like many, having seen elderly relatives go through similar things the characters in this film experience, I couldn’t help but relate and be moved by this film for that alone (Even if not all of the details are right- so what? Is every experience exactly the same?). However, the performances given by Ted Danson and in particular Jack Lemmon, must also not be underestimated. Danson has never been better (I’ve not been much of a fan), and Lemmon ought to have been given an Oscar nomination for his touching and affecting performance here. He is often thought as a likeable star and a somewhat lightweight comedian, but in this, “The China Syndrome” and “Days of Wine and Roses” (his best ever performance), he proved himself to be a genuinely great actor. Aside from the hiding under the bed, the scenes between Danson and Lemmon are definitely the best in the film, as Danson now has to be the one to take care of his parent, instead of the other way around. Seeing Danson look at Lemmon as this kind of frail, possibly feeble-minded elderly man is something that definitely resonated with me. It’s always sad to look at someone you’ve always looked up to and see that they’re no longer quite what they once were, whether it be physically or mentally. Surely just about everyone can relate to this kind of thing, and both actors are entirely believable in their roles (The father-son dynamic between Danson and Hawke is perhaps less effective, and far less thoroughly dealt with). The other actors have less to do, but Zakes Mokae and J.T. Walsh are both good as doctors with very different bedside manners, Kathy Baker is always wonderful and underrated, and an amusing Kevin Spacey has one of his better pre-“Usual Suspects” roles as the not very well favoured son-in-law.

Not everyone is going to have the same reaction to this film as I did. I understand that the film largely tends to work or fail depending on the personal baggage each viewer brings to it. All I can say is that I have a special place in my heart for this film, and it does have its genuine strengths. In fact, I’m surprised most critics are so harsh towards it. It might be a little corny at times and not always entirely true to life, but it’s far from dishonest or incompetently made. Lemmon is incredible, and it is a must-see film for his many fans.

Rating: B+