My Favorite Movie Dads

Here is a video tribute to my favorite fatherly moments in cinema. I chose them for no particular reason other than the way they personally struck me. My father, Luis Mirasol Jr., passed away before the end of the last century, so my choices can’t help but show how I long for my old man. I dedicate this to him and to Roger Ebert, who showcased my earlier (clumsy) attempt at such a tribute, but felt what I was trying to say.

Here they are in order of appearance, and why I love these scenes dearly:

• FREQUENCY – Who doesn’t want to be able to reach back in time and talk with their dads one more time?
• DAD – Oversentimental a lot of times, but Jack Lemmon grabs you and never lets go.
• JUNO – Juno’s father Mac MacGuff is the model dad every pregnant teen would want.
• THE CHAMP – contains the most manipulative yet effective tearjerking father-son scene in all of film.
• HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – If you see the sequel now in theatres, you’ll understand.
• FINDING NEMO – Albert Brooks’s Marlin literally crosses oceans to find his son Nemo. One of the most memorable movie dads in film history.
• FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1991) – self-explanatory.
• PARENTHOOD – see previous.
• THE GODFATHER – the scene where Don Vito tells his son Michael that he never wanted him to be in their “business” is one of the few moments of humanity and regret that rarely gets mentioned about this film. But it’s what separates the Don from any other criminal boss.
• HONKYTONK MAN – not a remarkable movie in most ways, but special in that Clint Eastwood pretty much films himself with his real life son having fun together in a movie. Is there a better family album than that?
• THE BICYCLE THIEF – an impoverished worker playing an impoverished character with his real life son portraying life in World War-torn Italy. Not enough words to describe why this is special.
• THE WRESTLER – the heart of this story belongs to a father and his estranged daughter, without it, the film would lose its soul.
• OH, GOD! – the wisest and funniest movie about the Heavenly Father, played by George Burns who doesn’t come across as all-knowing, but as your dear old grandpa.
• LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL – father and son holding together through love and laughs despite the absurdity of war.
• HELLBOY – a superhero film that shows that a father’s love doesn’t depend on a son’s origin.
• THE LION KING – damn you Scar.
• RETURN OF THE JEDI – Darth Vader and Luke, together for the last time.
• IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – self-explanatory.
• INDIANA JONES – Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, Indy paying tribute to his inspiration in James Bond, with the latter playing the former’s dad.
• THE INCREDIBLES – what drives this film is superhero dad Bob Parr’s midlife crisis. What father hasn’t gone through one?
• SUPERMAN – when we see Brando as Jor-El, we know what makes Kal-El so special.
• FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950) – old-school self-explanatory.
• TRON: LEGACY – Jeff Bridges gives a fatherly Kevin Flynn more gravitas than he has any right to have.
• TAKEN – a violent action film that despite its carnage, feels satisfying and comforting due to its irresistable super spy dad played by Liam Neeson.
• ROAD TO PERDITION – Tom Hanks as a dad who will do anything to protect his son from from his own crime family.
• THE ROAD – the essential father-son movie, highlighting humanity through its end.
• THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS – Gene Hackman as one of filmdoms funniest movie dads, displaying the depth of his love through the shallowness of his actions.