Thursday, February 26, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks: Father-Son Relationships (Biologically Related)


Around these parts, Thursday has become THE day, the most popular day of the week. For that, all thanks is due to Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves and her wonderful Thursday Movie Picks Meme. If you're not familiar, she picks a theme and invites bloggers to pick three corresponding movies. They can be either one you deem the best or favorites on the subject, the worst, hidden gems, or some combination of those.

This week's topic is one that is near and dear to my heart: Father-Son relationships. I am a father of three and my son is my oldest. Since I didn't have my own father around much, it means a lot to me to be involved with my own children. So another thank you is due to Wanderer for choosing this subject.

Finally, in case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to cram in some movies featuring black performers in honor of Black History Month since I haven't done a ton else on the blog this year. Gotta keep my 'black card' somehow, so yeah, black dads rule..including me. Here we go. My suggestions listed chronologically, as always...


Boyz N the Hood
(1991)
Father and Son: Furious and Tre Styles
It's mind-boggling that this movie is nearly a quarter of a century old because I vividly remember sitting in a theater being completely blown away by it. In the time that's passed, the tools it used to tell its story have overshadowed that story. It's mostly thought of as a movie about young men embroiled in a cycle of violence in South Central Los Angeles. At its core, Boyz N the Hood is really all about the value of having a father in the home. The events of the story merely point that out. The movie is also remembered as the cinematic debut of Ice Cube. He does do what is still his best work as the troubled Doughboy. However, it's a tremendous performance from Laurence Fishburne as Furious Styles, the father of Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr. in his first major movie role) that grounds the movie and constantly reminds both his son and us in the audience there is a better way.

Dad's Wisdom: "Any fool with a dick can make a baby, but only a real man can raise his children."


John Q
(2002)
Father and Son: John Quincy and Michael Archibald
Any father worth his salt believes with all his heart that he will do anything to ensure the survival of his children. Though we all do some things we normally wouldn't and make some uncomfortable sacrifices, most of us don't have to do anything too out of the ordinary. John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington) decides to go to the extreme to save his boy's life. His son Michael (Daniel E. Smith) needs a heart transplant and John's insurance will only cover seventy percent of the cost. John has to come up with $75,000 on his own. When he can't raise enough through traditional means, he heads into the hospital emergency room with a gun, takes some hostages, and makes some obvious demands. Now THAT'S a dad willing to do anything.

Dad's Wisdom: "You're too young for girls right now but there's gonna come a time, and when it does, you treat them like princesses, because that's what they are."


The Pursuit of Happyness
(2006)
Father and Son: Chris and Christopher Gardner
Based on a true story, we follow Chris (Will Smith) and his young son Christopher (Will's real life son Jaden) through the streets of San Francisco. Dad is a medical equipment salesman by trade and has invested every dime he has in a machine that no one seems to want. His wife hates him, so he takes their son and leaves. Unfortunately, they wind up homeless. The occasional sale of a machine helps them to survive as much as possible. However, there a slim chance things will change for them when Chris manages to get into a competitive internship at a financial services company. This is the movie to blame for the existence of After Earth. That movie, also about the real life father and son playing out those roles on screen merely tries to do what The Pursuit of Happyness does - create magic.

Dad's Wisdom: "Don't ever let somebody tell you...you can't do something. Not even me."


You may also enjoy my reviews of other movies about father-son relationships:

28 comments:

  1. I've only seen bits and pieces of The Pursuit of Happyness. It's just a little sappy for me especially with them getting Will Smith's son to play the son role.

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    1. It's way sappy, but I'm a big sucker for this one.

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  2. I've seen bits of John Q and Pursuit of Happyness. John Q is quite touching for me.

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    1. John Q is touching. I think you'll find The Pursuit of Happyness to be the same.

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  3. I added The Pursuit of Happyness, excellent choice. I mean I would agree with Wanderer it is a little sappy, but I found their relationship so moving I could not help but like it

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    1. Same here. I'm generally not into sappy flicks. This one is a weak spot for me.

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  4. Pursuit of Happyness is heartbreaking! But it was a good movie, especially that toilet scene. Oh.

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    1. That scene...ugh...I was hurting for them both.

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    2. YES! I still remember that scene, years after seeing the film. Incredible movie.

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    3. It's a hard to forget moment in a wonderful film.

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  5. Excellent picks! The Pursuit of Happyness might be the only time I cried in a movie because something good finally happened to a character. I really need to revisit Boyz in the Hood.

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    1. It was a gigantic relief when that good thing happened. Boyz N the Hood is one of my all time faves.

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  6. UGH Pursuit of Happyness... SO GOOD. Gets me every time. Boyz N the Hood is great, too. I haven't seen John Q, but it's on my list because I love Denzel.

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    1. Hope you get to see John Q soon. It certainly tugs on your heart strings.

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  7. Boyz N the Hood is one of those films that I never actually "watched", but I have seen all the way through. My brother would watch it all of the time when I was younger, and I remember it pretty well. The dead body scene scared the shit out of me, ahha. Whenever the film is brought up, all I can hear is, ♫"ooh child, things are gonna get easier"♫...

    John Q is another film I've been around my siblings while watching, but I only remember so much. I have to give it a good watch soon.

    You choose some serious father son connections as topics. Well thought out!

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    1. Fun fact: everything about the dead body scene is an homage to Stand By Me. And that's a great song.

      I wouldn't mind rewatching John Q myself. It's been a couple years. Thanks.

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  8. All really great picks! Boyz n the Hood is an unreal great choice here. How did I not think of that!? I love that movie.

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    1. Thanks. It was honestly the first movie I thought of for this topic.

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  9. I haven't seen the first two, but Happyness is a perfect choice. I liked that movie too, and I loved the way the main character was developed. They allowed him to be flawed as well as a smart, resilient man and a devoted father. Will Smith was great in that movie.

    By the way, I couldn't love your graphic any more. That little boy is adorable, and the expression on his face is priceless.

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    1. Definitely one of Smith's best performances. I thought he was brilliant. Glad you like the banner. Couldn't resist using that pic when I came across it.

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  10. Seen all three! Great picks. I don't love the later two, despite having great lead performances, but Boyz in the Hood is a great film, and Fishburne should have won the Oscar in 91 for his brilliant performance. Such a well rounded depiction of paternal love and concern.

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    1. Great to see the love for Fishburne. He really was amazing in that. Thanks!

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  11. I really need to see all of these! How awesome that you celebrated Black History Month in the process Dell.

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    1. Thanks! I agree, you really need to see all of these!

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  12. I like those films as they're good examples of fathers. Though Will Smith, in real life, turns out to be a very shitty dad for the way his son has turned out while claiming his son only has one pair of shoes when really has more than that.

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    1. Wow. I hadn't heard that story. Then again, I try to avoid a lot of celeb stuff.

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  13. Have only seen The Pursuit of Happiness from those picks but reading through the post I will be sure to watch John Q and Boyz N The Good soon.

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    1. Please do. I'd love to see what you think of them. Thanks for stopping by!

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