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:

The Place Beyond the Pines

Big Fish

A Good Day to Die Hard

That's My Boy

After Earth