Best Movie Dads

To honor Father's Day this weekend, I perused the IMDB 250 for the most memorable fathers in the movies. These are not all great dad's, or great people, but they are definitely some of the most memorable dads. Here are my top 10 (though one did not come from the IMDB list!)

1. Clark W. Griswold - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - This is one of my family's favorite movies. And very few of the lines we like are Clark's. However, I'm always struck watching it how much Clark loves his family and wants them to have a "Big Old Fashioned Christmas".








2. George Bailey - It's a Wonderful Life - George had his moments as a bad father, yelling at his daughter to stop playing the piano, but we all know that ultimately he came to appreciate his family and being a dad.








3. Don Corleone - The Godfather - He's not just a Godfather, he's also got 4 children of his own. He definitely has favorites and really shouldn't have spoiled his daughter the way he did, but he still puts family first.

4. Lester Burnham - American Beauty - Lester may not have realized he had the chance to be a good father until it was too late, but at least he realized that his daughter was pretty amazing and that the last images that when through his head as he died were about being a dad.

5. Henry Jones - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Perhaps an uninvolved dad at the beginning, he helps his son find the Holy Grail and eternal life. What more can you ask for in a dad?

6. Marlin - Finding Nemo - Marlin swam the seas to save his son from an aquarium. He learned new things about himself and things that would interest his son (sea turtles live over 150 years!). He came through and ultimately proved he could be a good dad, without being too controlling or smothering.

7. Mac MacGuff - Juno - There aren't too many dads that would take in a teen pregnancy without yelling and being disappointed in the daughter he raised like Mr. MacGuff. He still asks how his daughter is doing and helps her choose people to take the child. I admire him each time I see the movie.

8. Darth Vader - Star Wars Episode IV,V,VI - Definitely one of the most memorable fathers, even if his part in raising the children was zero, he ultimately make huge sacrifices for his children.

9. Atticus Finch - To Kill a Mockingbird - Probably the best representation of a father that cinema has ever shown us. He's honest, caring, honorable, and intelligent. It doesn't get much better than Atticus Finch.

10. Richard Hoover - Little Miss Sunshine - I know this one is kind of a stretch, but I liked that the dad decided to support his daughter's ambition to be in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. He even cares enough not to let her compete. He's the overzealous dad that supports even when he should be a better dad and say no from the beginning, but at least he gets there in the end.