Father's Day is more than a week away, but readers have been asking for movie titles devoted to Dad. Given an arbitrary date of films after 1960, here are the next best fathers to my own.
Bend it Like Beckham (2002): On the wedding day of his elder daughter, Anupam Kher allows his soccer-mad younger daughter to participate in a match. He couldn't resist the prospect of having both daughters happy on the same day.
Boyz N the Hood (1991): Laurence Fishburne instills values and discipline in his son, steering him away from the drugs and violence that permeate the neighborhood.
Catch Me if You Can (2002): Christopher Walken as the con man who loves his son unconditionally.
Cinderella Man (2005) During the Depression when he can't get work prizefighter Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) fights to keep his family together.
The Godfather (1972) Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, who puts his family before his Family.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)/Guess Who (2005) Gruff-but-loving Spencer Tracy and Bernie Mac are the patriarchs surprised by their daughters' choice in husband material in the original and remake about interracial marriage.
Hanging Up (2000) Walter Matthau has dementia and his daughters Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow and Diane Keaton remember who he was while dealing with who he is.
Juno (2007) J.K. Simmons as the dad who supports his daughter through unplanned pregnancy and first love.
The Namesake (2007) Irrfan Khan (pictured) as the emigre who gives his firstborn with an unusual name and takes him to a place where they can go no further.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Gregory Peck in his signature role as the Southern widower who teaches his children tolerance and love.
Tortilla Soup (2001)/Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) The American remake and original Chinese film of a master chef, father of three daughters, who loses his tastebuds and helps his daughters find men as good as him.
Your favorite movie Dads? Tell me why.
Cary Grant in "Room for One More" (but not "Houseboat"), hands-down.— Pash- I'm a sucker for the father/son film genre. I wept buckets at WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER and I didn't even like the film! (good performances though). Yet my favorite--if not the BEST father/son film-- is a little-seen Canadian drama (available on DVD) called C.R.A.Z.Y. It's absolutely heartbreaking; a story about a close-knit family where the father's opinion of his son changes over the years. I can't urge enough people to see this film. And I wish I could have seen it with my dad.— garyk
- huge yay@spencer tracy in "dinner." i kinda get all misty-eyed like madame hepburn when he renders his final judgment---which has all the solomonic wisdom of his "nuremberg" verdict. love "namesake," too--what a performance--also cried at that climactic moment. so glad you OMITTED "field of dreams," which i fear many may mention but seems diabetic-making to me. i also like 1)roberto benigni in "life is beautiful"--especially against the backdrop of the recent holocaust museum shooting--find the father's shielding the son from the horrors of hatred, making everything seem like a beautiful game, overpowering 2)jack albertson in "subject was roses"--so real and searching and trying to learn from yet help his anguished son 3)paul dooley in "breaking away"--again, trying to accept his son's oddball passions and italian fetish 4) dan hedaya in "clueless"--seeing that there's more to his daughter than her shopping prowess 5)dustin hoffman in "kramer vs kramer"---one of my fave examples ever of a father learning to cope with newfound responsibilities post-separation--the ice cream scene especially 6) donald sutherland in "ordinary people"--inner strength and compassion to walk away from the ice queen--also dug him as the father in the keira k. "pride and prejudice" 7) ralph richardson in "the heiress"--not because he's a swell guy ... but because i so admire the performance, which captures the damage parents can do ... and what a catalyst he was for olivia d's triumphant revenge— bob ickes
- To garyk: I love "C.R.A.Z.Y.," too. My favorite father film, however - although the father is awful - is "I Never Sang for My Father." But then I'm a sucker for Robert Anderson.— Pash
- Runaway winner in my book is Billy Elliot. Billy's father -- who was already a single parent -- overcame BOTH his deep loyalty to the union, and his homophobia to embrace his son. He dug deep into his heart, crossed the picket line, and paid for his son to go to dancing school. As for Juno, that dad should never have given up his daughter's future after a 15-second reply by her. A HORRIBLE example of parenting.— drogow
- Love Billy Elliott and Clueless, those Dads were as great as the movies. If we're talking Cary Grant and I can break my post-1960 rule, "Penny Serenade." Amazing. Much as I like Ralph Richardson in "The Heiress" for the reasons Bob mentioned, I prefer Albert Finney in"The Heiress" update, "Washington Square."— carrierickey
- gonna rent "washington square"--thanks for the tip. love albert finney. i wanted to mention him as daddy warbucks!— bob ickes
- I wouldn't forget Dustin Hoffman and his growth as a father in Kramer Vs. Kramer. From the same year, I love Paul Dooley in Breaking Away.— edwardcopeland
- I think Liam Neeson in Taken is a pretty great dad, I also loved Judd Hirsch in Running on Empty.— allison811
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- Jimmy Stewart in "It's A Wonderful Life" as well as the 1956 version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much"— chazzbo
- big fish, i'm such a sucker for this genre.— wearethechampions
- I'm with Xi and WatC. Watch both those movies around the anniversary of my father's passing.— RG
- Field of Dreams!— bjps1353
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