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Dad

The book Dad was made into the movie Dad.

Which one did you like better, the book or the movie?  There are 4 votes for the book, and 7 votes for the movie.

Book details for Dad

Dad was written by William Wharton. The book was published in 1981 by Vintage. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

William Wharton also wrote Birdy (1978) and A Midnight Clear (1982).

 

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Movie details for Dad

The movie was released in 1989 and directed by Gary David Goldberg, who also directed Must Love Dogs (2005). Dad was produced by Universal Studios. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com and also IMDb.

Actors on this movie include Jack Lemmon, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis, Kathy Baker, Kevin Spacey, Ethan Hawke, Zakes Mokae, J.T. Walsh, Peter Michael Goetz, John Apicella, Richard McGonagle, Bill Morey, Mary Fogarty, Art Frankel, Ray Girardin, Vickilyn Reynolds, Edith Fields, Takayo Fischer, Andi Chapman and Erin Strom.

 

Read More About This Movie

William Wharton's startling and moving novel about fathers and sons got an above-average film adaptation from TV's Gary David Goldberg, who wrote and directed. While the film couldn't capture the sadness and wonder of Wharton's worlds-within-worlds constr... Read More
William Wharton's startling and moving novel about fathers and sons got an above-average film adaptation from TV's Gary David Goldberg, who wrote and directed. While the film couldn't capture the sadness and wonder of Wharton's worlds-within-worlds construct, it did get exactly right the notion of how one closes the distance from a parent or a child. Danson plays an ambitious businessman forced to put work aside to care for his aging parents (Jack Lemmon and Olympia Dukakis) when his mother is hospitalized. Mom, it turns out, is a domineering dictator who has stifled Dad all these years; with her out of the way, Dad suddenly recognizes the possibilities of his own life. Meanwhile, Danson's estranged son, Ethan Hawke, comes home as well, allowing the two of them a rapprochement. Lemmon is particularly good (and almost unrecognizable). --Marshall Fine