Four generations and four households result in too diffuse a scope (and too disparate an acting ensemble: from the cartoonishness of Steve Martin and Rick Moranis to the fussy pointillism of Dianne Wiest). The filmmakers clearly wanted to cover all possibilities, and some of the possibilities have a deep bedrock of authenticity: parental helplessness (in the Steve Martin household), parental high expectations (in the Rick Moranis household). An almost demented desire to maximize the entertainment value -- the fantasies, the Little League games, the birthday-party cowboy, the homicidal gangsters, the classroom serenade, the blow job in a moving vehicle, the drag racing, the disastrous school play -- not only diminishes the authenticity, but (ironically and poetically) diminishes the entertainment value as well. With Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, and Keanu Reeves; directed by Ron Howard. (1989) — Duncan Shepherd
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