by Ben Miller
Tracy Letts directing your attention to Greta Gerwig at the Lady Bird premiere at TIFF
As a father, few things bring me greater joy onscreen than portrayals of loving, supportive fathers. Tracy Letts’ performance in Lady Bird is my favorite on-screen dad in years and years (though we'll get to other fine portrayals of onscreen dads of 2017 in a later post).
Letts plays Larry McPherson, the patriarch of Lady Bird’s clan. He is shrouded in a bushy beard and balding head which characterizes him in his late 50s/early 60s. In reality, he’s only 52. At 6’3”, he towers over every character. Despite his frame, Larry is nothing but heart and warmth...
Tracy Letts and Laurie Metcalf have very different parenting styles in LADY BIRD
Saoirse Ronan’s Lady Bird argues throughout the movie with her mom Marion, her best friend, her mom, boyfriend #1, mom, boyfriend #2, mom, her brother and mom again. Larry always gets to be the good guy. When Lady Bird and her mom are done fighting, he gets to soothe them both.
Letts aptly plays the subtext that's so rich with Larry throughout Lady Bird. This includes looming unemployment, serving as the constant go-between for his wife and daughter, and fighting a longstanding battle with depression. But don’t worry about Larry. His job is not to be a nuisance or cause conflict. He stays out of the way.
Letts relished the chance to play against type. Speaking with the LA Times, Letts says:
I’m 6-3, I’ve got a deep voice, a certain, I don’t know, gravity or something that people see, so they want to put me in a suit and have me order drone strikes. This part was delightful, because it’s temperamentally much closer to who I really am. I’m not a guy who actually orders drone strikes, I’m a guy who likes to sit and read the newspaper.
That delight shines through, even when he is only reading the newspaper. An early scene features Lady Bird arguing with her mother over undercooked eggs for breakfast. As they go their usual 12 rounds, Lady Bird also argues with her brother and his girlfriend over their vegan lifestyle and leather jackets. The scene ends with everyone storming off from the table and Larry happily reading his newspaper throughout the scene. He never interjects and is never asked to interject.
Larry’s goal is happiness. He wants his wife happy, his son and his girlfriend happy and he especially wants his only daughter to be happy. Lady Bird asks people to knock before coming in her room, Larry does it. She asks to be let off a block down from the school, he does it. She wants to go to an East Coast college and she needs financial aid help, Larry is there.
The amount of vitriol spewed back-and-forth between Lady Bird and her mother is almost overwhelming. Larry’s presence is crucial in giving credence to both sides of the shouting. Not only does he get to be the good guy for Lady Bird, he gets to be the good guy for Marion. He always gets to win with his ladies.