Dad
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
Working with a moderate budget of $19.0M, the film achieved a steady performer with $19.7M in global revenue (+4% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Dad (1989) exhibits strategically placed story structure, characteristic of Gary David Goldberg's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 57 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes John Tremont is a successful but emotionally distant businessman, consumed by his work and disconnected from his aging parents who live across the country.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when John receives an urgent call that his mother has collapsed and been hospitalized, forcing him to return home immediately.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to John makes the active choice to stay and take care of his father rather than returning to his business, crossing into a new role as caregiver and son., moving from reaction to action.
At 58 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat False victory: Jake seems to be thriving under John's care, appearing healthier and more independent, and Bette returns home recovered, suggesting everything might work out perfectly., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 87 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jake's condition reaches its lowest point - either a medical crisis or the moment John realizes his father is truly dying, containing the "whiff of death" both literal and metaphorical., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 93 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. John realizes that being present and loving his father through death is what matters - synthesis of the professional competence he brought from his old life with the emotional openness he learned., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Dad's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Dad against these established plot points, we can identify how Gary David Goldberg utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Dad within the drama genre.
Gary David Goldberg's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Gary David Goldberg films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Dad takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Gary David Goldberg filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Gary David Goldberg analyses, see Must Love Dogs.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
John Tremont is a successful but emotionally distant businessman, consumed by his work and disconnected from his aging parents who live across the country.
Theme
John's sister or mother mentions something about family responsibility and being there for the people who raised you, hinting at the film's central question about duty versus career.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of John's high-powered business life, his strained marriage, and his parents' world where his mother Bette cares for his increasingly dependent father Jake.
Disruption
John receives an urgent call that his mother has collapsed and been hospitalized, forcing him to return home immediately.
Resistance
John reluctantly returns home, debates how long to stay, and begins to confront his father Jake, now helpless without Bette, revealing years of emotional distance between them.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
John makes the active choice to stay and take care of his father rather than returning to his business, crossing into a new role as caregiver and son.
Mirror World
John begins to truly connect with his father Jake for the first time, learning to see him as a vulnerable human being rather than just an authority figure to rebel against.
Premise
The "fun and games" of father-son bonding: John helps Jake regain independence, they share activities, rediscover each other, and John learns caregiving while Jake regains dignity and vitality.
Midpoint
False victory: Jake seems to be thriving under John's care, appearing healthier and more independent, and Bette returns home recovered, suggesting everything might work out perfectly.
Opposition
Jake's health deteriorates seriously; he is diagnosed with cancer. John must face the reality that love and connection cannot prevent death, and his business life pressures him to return.
Collapse
Jake's condition reaches its lowest point - either a medical crisis or the moment John realizes his father is truly dying, containing the "whiff of death" both literal and metaphorical.
Crisis
John sits with the darkness of impending loss, processing his grief and fear, questioning whether the time together was enough and what it means to truly be a son.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
John realizes that being present and loving his father through death is what matters - synthesis of the professional competence he brought from his old life with the emotional openness he learned.
Synthesis
John stays with his father through the final days, provides comfort and dignity, reconciles fully, and is present for Jake's death, demonstrating complete transformation from disconnected son to loving caregiver.
Transformation
Final image shows John transformed: no longer the emotionally distant businessman, but someone who understands the primacy of family and presence, having learned what his father had to teach him.