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The Family Stone (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:7
Fresh:6
Rotten:1
Average Rating:6.2/10
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
Despite its flaws, The Family Stone sparkles bright with originality.
Hollywood is always making family comedies, but they are rarely about real families: relations who are as difficult as they are wonderful, people who both love and irritate the heck out of each other. Families like The Family Stone.
The Family Stone spends too much time on unconvincing romantic-comedy contrivances to be consistently engaging.
The Family Stone sorts out its characters admirably, depends on typecasting to help establish its characters more quickly, and finds a winding path between happy and sad secrets.
Sarah Jessica Parker's nimble performance is reason alone to see this creaky fairy tale about a Manhattan executive marrying into an unhappy family.
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| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
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| 68% 68% | Funny People |
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
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