Intelligently-crafted, though ultimately uneven and shallow mosaic of stories centering on the members of a large, colorful modern family. Director Ron Howard has a tough time getting the picture's rhythm going, and for the first two-thirds of an hour it does nothing but meander and flail away on stale jokes. The screenplay, by Howard's real-life pals Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (with help from Howard himself), isn't too wacky, yet the film is full of peaks and valleys. Since the writing isn't initially assured, the tone of the picture swings from comically-credible to cartoonish. The performances by the cast are uneven, too, ranging from fine (Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Tom Hulce and Jason Robards) to dull (Keanu Reeves and Martha Plimpton) to over-exaggerated (Dianne Wiest, who received an Oscar nomination and most of the critical plaudits). Ganz and Mandel aspire to touchy-feely, fuzzy family comedy, so it comes as a surprise that parts of "Parenthood" are actually rather crass, while Howard, as a director of comedy, needs to reel-in his penchant for cuteness. ** from ****