Richly satisfying, The Family Stone takes us from laughter to tears and back again
The Family Stone (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
[The film] at times approximates the cozy hostility that can permeate real-life family gatherings. But then the movie's snap turns to sap, and edgy comedy becomes standard gazing-at-the-Christmas-tree warm fuzziness.
Some will find it touching, some will be too weary of the plot contrivances and the smug Stone family to care.
A feel-bad holiday film about a repellent family, with a milquetoast dad and a smug, devious harpy of a mom.
Strangely, though, it's not an overdose of sentimentality that makes the family - - and the film - - so hard to buy. It's that most of its members are so blithely cruel.
Indie director Bezucha has held on to just enough individuality to breathe a little life into the cliches.
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.
Thomas Bezucha applies just the right light touch to the film, layering in strong dollops of wit, wackiness and warmth, making it among the best of its type.
The Family Stone is like a festively wrapped gift box that contains that special sweater you wanted - - only in the wrong size.
'The Family Stone' is a cliche-ridden disaster that wants desperately to be a holiday tear-jerker, but mostly pushes all the wrong buttons.
It doesn't matter how many fine actors are assembled in a film, if the script is terrible, then the movie can't be good.
In the aggregate, though, it's a fractious Christmas spent with unpleasant relatives you'd rather avoid.
It's movie comfort food - - a few good laughs, a few winks of recognition, a few tears.
The Family Stone is a satisfying, big-hearted celebration of diversity that will brighten holiday moviegoing - - at least in the blue states.
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