Dad (1989)

Dad: Directed by Gary David Goldberg. With Jack Lemmon, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis, Kathy Baker. While his mom recovers in hospital from a heart attack, John puts his busy life on hold to fly home and help his elderly dad around the house. John’s son later joins them and they all truly bond for the first and, tragically, final time.

“Genuine tear-jerker that has the elderly Olympia Dukakis falling ill and leaving husband Jack Lemmon in limbo. Dukakis has done all the work in the relationship and Lemmon is helpless, plain and simple. Son Ted Danson comes to the rescue though and Dukakis starts to recover slowly. However trouble looms as Lemmon will be diagnosed with cancer and go into an emotional tail-spin that could kill him. A sappy screenplay works to near perfection here and steady direction helps the filmu0026#39;s cause as well. Watch for a young Ethan Hawke as Lemmonu0026#39;s grandson. Heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. 4 stars out of 5.”