On one hand, he clearly loves his family. He does whatever he can to make them happy. He takes them to Wally World, and goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure they have a great time. He takes them to Europe and saves his wife from kidnapping. He works hard to earn money for a pool for the family.

On the other hand, he forces his family on trips they don't really want to take, he makes them accessories to kidnapping, coerces his wife into making a sex tape, kills a dog, blows the entire family budget on a swimming pool, and in general is a just an a-hole. Also, he seems as though he'd gladly cheat on his wife given the opportunity.

So, what say you? Good Dad or Bad Dad?

The best.

Awesome dad. Family first all the time. Except for Christie Brinkley. And it was Christie Brinkley. Christie Brinkley. No man can he faulted for Christie Brinkley.

Yes, could he be a better dad? Probably. Would it make sense? No, the griswalds are a satire on the American nuclear family

He pays enough attention to recognize his kids despite their vastly changing appearance and voices over the years.

His heart's in the right place, but definitely a **** up.

Teaches his a son a valuable lesson on not being able to see the lines. Important lesson for any boy becoming a man.

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On the other hand, he forces his family on trips they don't really want to take, he makes them accessories to kidnapping, coerces his wife into making a sex tape, kills a dog, blows the entire family budget on a swimming pool, and in general is a just an a-hole. Also, he seems as though he'd gladly cheat on his wife given the opportunity.

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I won't admit how many of those boxes I check as a dad.

bam02 said:

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The best.

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He has an unrealistic view of his family that usually drags them into situations that always come to a head. He can't just live in the real world.

Bruce Almighty said:

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His heart's in the right place, but definitely a **** up.

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Ya he's pretty much the real life version of this guy….but then again this guy never tried to cheat on his wife by skinny dipping with another woman in the same hotel his family was staying at hours after the death of a family member and days after dragging an animal to its death….

not hedge said:

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Yes, could he be a better dad? Probably. Would it make sense? No, the griswalds are a satire on the American nuclear family

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Oh boy, what a hedge response. Thanks for clarifying that.

Takes responsibility and prays with his family

You forgot to add "forgets his daughter's name" to the list

Walter White lite. Goes to extreme, unreasonable lengths to do things "for the family" but in reality its all for himself, because he likes it. Trapped in a job where his boss doesn't know his name and he doesn't know the names of coworkers, working to produce unnatural non nutritive cereal varnishes - he snapped and became very inwardly focused, giving in to his base desires. They do humanize Clark a bit when they touch on childhood trauma - he tells his dad their holidays growing up were a mess and his dad replies "I got help from Jack Daniels" in a sinister tone. It's an American tragedy, satirized.

Anchorhold said:

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He pays enough attention to recognize his kids despite their vastly changing appearance and voices over the years.

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Deserves more stars.

I would absolutely try to break into Disney World if we had driven across the country and it was closed.

jokershady said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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His heart's in the right place, but definitely a **** up.

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Ya he's pretty much the real life version of this guy….but then again this guy never tried to cheat on his wife by skinny dipping with another woman in the same hotel his family was staying at hours after the death of a family member and days after dragging an animal to its death….

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Thanks for this thread! This is one of my favorite movie characters of all time!!! YES. he is a good Dad. He reminds me of an exaggerated version of my Dad. Going out of his way to do something special for his family, but it doesn't go as planned, makes mistakes, he isn't perfect, but has a good heart.

I hope OP's name's Clark:

We had a discussion that touches on this topic at my bible study this week. It came up when some folks asked for prayers for some nephews that were still trying to figure out their path in their 30s. I mentioned that there is societal demonization of adult males/father figures in general that started back in the 80s and has just worsened over time. The last decent father figure I can recall in popular culture is Huckstable and now he has been wiped out due to Cosby's criminal offenses.

Most of the men from the 90s on are weak, lost, not connected with their families, bumbling idiots. Clark fits that mold but at least he seems to be engaged and involved with his family I guess.

I see it in work daily as well. It is rare for a father to be involved in their children's health care period. Most of the ones that bring in a kid literally have no idea why they brought their kid in and just read it off their phone from a text from the mom. It is refreshing when a dad comes in that actually knows what is going on with their kid and that is terribly sad for our society.

Never noticed his kids changed from trip to trip.

There's a meta joke about this in Vegas Vacation.

I think Clark is an example of a Dad that is constantly there for his kids, just a little goofy. :-)

Clearly. Alls you need to see is sharing a beer with Rusty in the desert. I wanted to call him dad too.

KidDoc said:

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We had a discussion that touches on this topic at my bible study this week. It came up when some folks asked for prayers for some nephews that were still trying to figure out their path in their 30s. I mentioned that there is societal demonization of adult males/father figures in general that started back in the 80s and has just worsened over time. The last decent father figure I can recall in popular culture is Huckstable and now he has been wiped out due to Cosby's criminal offenses.

Most of the men from the 90s on are weak, lost, not connected with their families, bumbling idiots. Clark fits that mold but at least he seems to be engaged and involved with his family I guess.

I see it in work daily as well. It is rare for a father to be involved in their children's health care period. Most of the ones that bring in a kid literally have no idea why they brought their kid in and just read it off their phone from a text from the mom. It is refreshing when a dad comes in that actually knows what is going on with their kid and that is terribly sad for our society.

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as opposed to the glorious 50's & 60's where men were super involved with the birth and rearing of their children?

Diggity said:

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KidDoc said:

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We had a discussion that touches on this topic at my bible study this week. It came up when some folks asked for prayers for some nephews that were still trying to figure out their path in their 30s. I mentioned that there is societal demonization of adult males/father figures in general that started back in the 80s and has just worsened over time. The last decent father figure I can recall in popular culture is Huckstable and now he has been wiped out due to Cosby's criminal offenses.

Most of the men from the 90s on are weak, lost, not connected with their families, bumbling idiots. Clark fits that mold but at least he seems to be engaged and involved with his family I guess.

I see it in work daily as well. It is rare for a father to be involved in their children's health care period. Most of the ones that bring in a kid literally have no idea why they brought their kid in and just read it off their phone from a text from the mom. It is refreshing when a dad comes in that actually knows what is going on with their kid and that is terribly sad for our society.

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as opposed to the glorious 50's & 60's where men were super involved with the birth and rearing of their children?

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I'm mostly speaking to the effect television media has had on the expected role of the father. Most of the shows from 50s-70s portrayed the male figure as a leader and hard worker, often bearing some wisdom and knowledge. In the 80s and beyond it rapidly devolved into a clown show for the leading man. Usually obese, stupid, not nearly as good looking as the wife.

In the 50s and 60s most dads were not "hands on" necessarily but they did fill their expected role as primary income and disciplinarian more so than dads these days. Back then the vast majority of moms did not work outside of the home so it made more sense for them to be the primary caregiver. Now the majority of moms work but they still are expected to do the majority of the parenting while dads seem to be busy looking at their phones for the most part (in my professional experience).

Phil Dunphey and Dre Johnson immediately come to mind as solid father's

I agree that the father's in sitcoms are portrayed as blundering idiots. That kind of stuff does annoy me. Hell, I was re-watching the Sopranos and Tony is a complete pansy as a father.

Not confined to US shows either. Wife and I were watching a British drama where they're sitting outside the 16 year old daughters room where her and the boyfriend are clearly going at it and they express to each other how powerless they are in this situation. Later they find a joint in her purse and the dopey dad just doesn't know what to do. Basically, Hugh Grant's character in every movie is now the prototypical father.

KidDoc said:

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Diggity said:

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KidDoc said:

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We had a discussion that touches on this topic at my bible study this week. It came up when some folks asked for prayers for some nephews that were still trying to figure out their path in their 30s. I mentioned that there is societal demonization of adult males/father figures in general that started back in the 80s and has just worsened over time. The last decent father figure I can recall in popular culture is Huckstable and now he has been wiped out due to Cosby's criminal offenses.

Most of the men from the 90s on are weak, lost, not connected with their families, bumbling idiots. Clark fits that mold but at least he seems to be engaged and involved with his family I guess.

I see it in work daily as well. It is rare for a father to be involved in their children's health care period. Most of the ones that bring in a kid literally have no idea why they brought their kid in and just read it off their phone from a text from the mom. It is refreshing when a dad comes in that actually knows what is going on with their kid and that is terribly sad for our society.

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as opposed to the glorious 50's & 60's where men were super involved with the birth and rearing of their children?

---

I'm mostly speaking to the effect television media has had on the expected role of the father. Most of the shows from 50s-70s portrayed the male figure as a leader and hard worker, often bearing some wisdom and knowledge. In the 80s and beyond it rapidly devolved into a clown show for the leading man. Usually obese, stupid, not nearly as good looking as the wife.

In the 50s and 60s most dads were not "hands on" necessarily but they did fill their expected role as primary income and disciplinarian more so than dads these days. Back then the vast majority of moms did not work outside of the home so it made more sense for them to be the primary caregiver. Now the majority of moms work but they still are expected to do the majority of the parenting while dads seem to be busy looking at their phones for the most part (in my professional experience).

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LOL my grandfather would proudly brag that he had never held a baby.

My dad pretty much threatened to divorce my mom if she made him change the diaper of his lone grand daughter. They have been married 51 years.

Duncan Idaho said:

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Phil Dunphey and Dre Johnson immediately come to mind as solid father's

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Not familiar with Dre Johnson.

Phil is still a bumbling idiot who is scared of his father-in-law. Although he is kind hearted and involved with his family so that is indeed one of the better modern examples I forgot about him.

hunter2012 said:

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Teaches his a son a valuable lesson on not being able to see the lines. Important lesson for any boy becoming a man.

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LOL YES!

He's just the epitome of the bumbling dad trope that replaced the old school dads from television.

Disagree that Phil is a bumbling idiot. He is a highly successful business owner.

It isn't like he is some middle aged dork that wears knee high socks with checkered vans while cruising the neighborhood in a used Corvette