OK, are there any other X-Filers out there who get a little freaked out by this?
Father knows best
A few years ago, Pharmablogger's sister gave us a copy of "Daddy Day Care," and our daughter, bless her heart, made it disappear faster than a dead hooker from Ben Affleck's trailer (hat tip: Kevin Smith).
Last night PB was watching a preview for Juno, when we began to think about our favorite "Dad" movies; films with Dad characters who are actually intelligent, caring, compassionate. So we decided to start a list here, and ask all of our reader to contribute their suggestions. No particular order to these.
1. Juno
Juno's dad says a few biting things to her when she announces her pregnancy, but he's a great supporter and friend to her, who simply didn't see this coming. Favorite line: "Hey there, big puffy version of Junebug!"
2. Fairy Tale
This is a bit of a cheat, because the Dad moment is very brief, coming at the very end, and that's all PB is going to say about it. Because if you have a daughter, you need to see this movie. PB cries at the end every time.
Dad is played by Anupam Kher, who shows his true colors of affection to his daughter about halfway into the film, sneaking in to watch her play metric football, then finally intervening in the end to allow her to play in the finals, accepting her traveling to America for college, and so on. He's trying to balance holding on to family the traditions of his culture with his daughter's need to grow.
4 & 5. Bride and Prejudice & Pride & Prejudice
The same story, two different interpretations, two great dads. Both of these contain variations of PB's favorite Dad line in literature: Your mother will never speak to you if you don't marry him, and I will never speak to you if you do. What a great show of respect for a daughter, to tell her that she deserves someone who is at least her equal, even if that decision may impoverish the rest of the family. Anupam Kher again in the first film, and Donald Sutherland in the second.
6. Contact
Jodie Foster's Dad is played by David Morse, who learns that his daughter is gifted in math and science, and does a great job inspiring her to excel beyond all of her peers, and think outside the orthodoxy of her field. His influence is so strong that it lasts well after his death when she is a young teenager.
7. Say Anything
Perhaps a controversial choice, since Ione Skye's Dad turns out to be a felon. But John Mahoney's relationship with his teenage daughter still remains something of a model for me. Sure, he puts her on a pedestal, but he's done a great job (another single Dad) encouraging her achievement, and giving her great values, despite his own personal failings. And there's that famous scene where she confesses that she "jumped on" John Cusack, and then expresses relief at her comfort at being able to tell her Dad something like that. Dad holds back his barely veiled concern, because he raised her to be honest, she was, and he knows he has to respect that, or undermine everything he ever told her in the past.
More when PB thinks of some, or you suggest something....
1 comment:
I like your writing. :-) Good list... there should be more movies like this.
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