Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Hair Trumps the Face
Besides a few similarities, the Parenthood film and television series are very different. But one similarity struck me: the physical resemblance of Steve Martin (Gill) and Peter Krause (Adam). I don't mean that the resemblance is completely spot on; there are of course differences, one of them being Steve Martin's ageless gray hair. But the similarity I'm referring to is in their face, especially around the eyes and mouth. More specifically, they both have very youthful facial features. I wonder if this was something intentional in the original film--the creators attempting to emphasize the residual child in Gill's character--that the show picked up on and appropriated. I use the word "appropriated" intentionally because in a lot of ways the show makes the subject matter its own and is successful in doing so. But despite the show standing firmly on its own two feet, in the end I enjoyed the film better, perhaps because of a personal bias, a sense of closure, the fact that I grew up with the film, or for an innumerable amount of other reasons, including the sense of calm Steve Martin's hair conjures within me.
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hahaha yes, the hair! we were all wondering how old steve martin is in this film, as his hair seems, like the stories within an adaptation, ageless.
ReplyDeletebut it's an interesting observation; perhaps, as you say, the director felt that there is something in both those actors that captures our cultural essence of typical american manhood–an average joe, mild-looking, with some macho tendencies but also some latent fears about his own competence as a dad. they are both "the one you are supposed to relate to the most." even in the TV show, where each of the characters' lives are explored, i still get the feeling that Gill is the central focus, as the show starts out with him as the first one we meet, and everyone calls him, as if all roads lead to Gill.