Steve Martin in 1979; Parenthood for Mary Steenburgen, tentative; A Beautiful Mind or Apollo 13 for Ron Howard as director; Happy Days free-throw scene for Ron Howard as actor; Harley Jane Kozak; the Ford convertible; Randy Newman; Amadeus for Tom Hulce; City Slickers for the screenwriters; The Bad News Bears films for Little League scenes; The World According to Garp; the Pam and Tommy Lee tape
Steve Martin’s Apex was previously assigned through Father of the Bride; the real peak is 1979 with Saturday Night Live guest-hosting, The Jerk, comedy albums and arena stand-up, prompting mock objections for Shopgirl and HouseSitter.
Mary Steenburgen’s Apex might be this film rather than the Howard Hughes movie, and her character is linked to Randy Newman’s song.
Ron Howard’s directing Apex is argued as A Beautiful Mind because it won him the Oscar; Apollo 13 is offered as the alternative.
Apollo 13 is favored for Ron Howard’s directing Apex, described as a mainstream rather than unusual view. — Chris Ryan
Ron Howard’s acting Apex is the Happy Days scene where Richie misses a game-winning free throw and his father offers a candy bar.
Harley Jane Kozak is definitely at Apex here, as is the Ford deluxe convertible.
Randy Newman is a yes for the Oscar-nominated song and the era when I Love L.A. became a Lakers staple; a fan argues he had several peaks, Toy Story is attributed to Craig, and The Natural score is noted, while another host resents him for the Lakers and Dodgers.
Parent comedy movies are considered, with Folks! and National Lampoon films raised.
Tom Hulce’s Apex is Amadeus, which predates this film.
City Slickers is the Apex for the film’s two screenwriters.
For feel-good Little League scenes the answer is not Parenthood but The Bad News Bears and Breaking Training, with Hardball and Rookie of the Year also raised.
A fan theory imagines the Hardball coach as Keanu’s Parenthood character after moving to Chicago and picking up gambling from Larry.
Parenthood is called up there for funny great-grandmother characters, which are hard to pull off.
For car accidents caused by oral sex, The World According to Garp is declared the winner, recalling its driveway scene to horrified reactions.
This film is not the road-head peak; the answer is the Pam and Tommy Lee tape, with a story about ordering it by phone before the internet.
The candidates are the grandmother and Harley Jane Kozak; the award goes to Kozak, credited as Harley Kozak and also in When Harry Met Sally that year.
Joaquin Phoenix, then credited as Leaf, gives a performance that forecasts an Oscar winner, especially when his face breaks while asking his father if he can live with him.
One participant did not realize the actor was the boy from Parenthood until after Gladiator, when a sister pointed it out.
A Kanye West lyric from Gone about a new wife and “now you’re Jennifer Aniston” is said to borrow from the film’s line about a new wife and family.
Keanu Reeves in his pre-Speed, Bill and Ted phase is fun and owns the boyfriend role, compared with David Arquette taking it in the TV series.
The grandmother inhaling helium is favored, as any helium scene is funny.
Per the research, there was a rivalry in which DiCaprio sought the Garry role, Phoenix got it, and the two competed for parts, with Phoenix measuring himself against DiCaprio.
Garry’s chaotic room is praised as a horror show compared with a real teenager’s room.
The boyfriend character as every parent’s nightmare who turns out decent is a favored concept.
The nude-photo discovery reportedly happened to producer Brian Grazer; developing such photos in the 1980s is joked about.
The Cure's Boys Don't Cry poster in Julie's room is appreciated.
Kevin’s tense face became a recurring reference in an early sports column, seen in a head coach during the Super Bowl and in LeBron James.
Harley Jane Kozak, also Helen in When Harry Met Sally, is appreciated as an actor who never quite broke through.
The film’s candid treatment of money, including Larry’s debts, Gil’s worries about private school, and summer-school pay funding a vacation, is more relatable than shows where money is no object.
The car sex-act gag is raised but deferred to Apex Mountain.
