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The Family Stone (2005)
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Reviews Counted:147
Fresh:77
Rotten:70
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: This family holiday dramedy features fine performances but awkward shifts of tone.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some sexual content including dialogue, and drug references.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:16-12-2005
Synopsis: Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warmhearted and sentimental while possessing a razor-sharp hilarious mean streak. The... Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warmhearted and sentimental while possessing a razor-sharp hilarious mean streak. The fairly conventional story centers on Sarah Jessica Parker's uptight career woman, Meredith, and her run-in with the eponymous Stone family. With her permanently pursed lips and severe bun, SJP looks and acts the anti-Carrie Bradshaw here as, armed with cell phone and business-suit collection, she gears up to meet her fiance's oddball family, a tight-knit, colorful clan who border on bohemian. Matriarch Sybil (Diane Keaton) and patriarch Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) are a loving couple whose diverse children are affectionate and respectful. When Meredith's humorless aura infects the homestead, it is mom Sybil and sister Amy (Rachel McAdams), who sense a romantic mismatch and attack her venomously, sparking a tete-a-tete-a-tete between three feisty females. While this Battle Royal is waged, dramatic subplots brew in the background, one involving the deaf and gay brother Thad's desire to adopt a child, and the other a rather devastating secret on the verge of exposure. It is in the emergence of Meredith's refreshingly calm and breezy younger sister, Julie (Claire Danes), entering the film with a dramatic fall from a bus exit, that brings all conflict to a head. [More]
Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker
Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Elizabeth Reazer, Savannah Stehlin, Paul Schneider
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Producer: Michael London
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for The Family Stone
Bezucha deftly avoids stereotypes to bring us an entertaining and honest family comedy.
Despite its flaws, The Family Stone sparkles bright with originality.
Disappointing and ultimately irritating film that fails on several counts, despite a handful of strong performances.
So, despite its flaws, there is plenty to like, just like any family.
This film is clearly a vehicle for Parker. We wouldn't want to waste all the "Sex and the City" steam now would we?
As a comedy, The Family Stone is more easy listening than rock-and-roll, but some of the performances (notably from McAdams and Nelson) are comfortable and affecting.
Moments of high hilarity and cringe-inducing honesty are scattered throughout The Family Stone.
Even with an empty tank of ideas by the end of the picture, Stone still remains worthy of a view, providing that desired blast of familial idiosyncrasies just in time for the holiday season.
It plays almost like Terms of Endearment crossed with the feel-good yule romance Love Actually.
The Family Stone shows us the world through several different sets of eyes, and, by the end, we see exactly what they see.
There are cringe-worthy passages and an overly sentimental structure (everyone pairs up so very tidily), but the performances are delightful, and the picture comes together.
It feels forcibly formulaic and yet sort of daringly original, all at the same time.
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