So apparently Hook was the archetypal dadventure movie of the 90s, which the Paris Review dubs "The Dadliest Decade."
between 1989 and 1999, ten dadventures hit the box-office top ten, and they're worth listing in full:This is how the Paris Review does cultural analysis of a decade many people walking the earth have lived through and remember somewhat? I was alive and relatively sentient in the 90s, and I have absolutely no idea what the hell this guy's talking about.Look Who's Talking
Parenthood
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Hook
Father of the Bride
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Santa Clause
The Flintstones
Jumanji
Big DaddySince then, from 2000 through 2013, there have been only four: Cheaper By the Dozen, The Pursuit of Happyness, Despicable Me, and Despicable Me 2. (Of course, this tally probably ignores a whole range of films wherein dadliness is defined on Freudian, structural, or mythic levels--where the drama of fatherhood undergirds the film's meaning without banging you over the head with it. But those are way harder to count, and anyway, shush.)
It's so opaque, I might have brave the untamed flood of spambots and reopen comments, just to sort it out. Oh wait, I get it now: Robin Williams was popular.
UPDATE: And to prove the point that those who don't learn from the 90s are doomed to repeat them: DT reader Micah notes that a sequel to Mrs Doubtfire is in development. I hope mass extinction comes first.
The Dadliest Decade [theparisreview]
