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The Family Stone

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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

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Reviews for The Family Stone

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141 - 155 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Busts your holiday sweets-stuffed gut with farcical laughter.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
12/15/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

a rare family comedy for grown-ups that's worth your time.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/15/05
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
Los Angeles CityBeat

Sarah Jessica Parker's nimble performance is reason alone to see this creaky fairy tale about a Manhattan executive marrying into an unhappy family.

comment Comment
12/14/05
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I love it dearly. I have seen it twice. I will see it again. If there is any hope for the longevity of movies, it will become an annual holiday classic.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
12/14/05
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

As overstuffed as a Christmas turkey.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
12/14/05
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

A rank slice of Christmas cheese.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
12/14/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

Who doesn't enjoy wallowing in another family's miserable holiday dynamic?

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
12/13/05
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Clumsy, well-meaning, and almost rescued by the amazing Diane Keaton.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
12/13/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

A smart, tart but mildly undercooked Christmas pudding.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/13/05
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's hard to fathom why anyone would voluntarily endure a holiday family reunion movie (hereafter HFRM) -- a genre devised solely to demonstrate how grotesque and how heartwarming families can be.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/13/05
Dennis Lim
Dennis Lim
Village Voice

Not unlike a Douglas Sirk melodrama, with secrets and prejudices boiling under jovial appearances.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
12/12/05
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

A film that is staggeringly accurate, sometimes painfully accurate, in capturing the dynamic of a smart, funny, tightly knit family unit.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
12/05/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Writer-director Thomas Bezucha lays it on thick, but he knows the mad-dog anarchy of family life and gives the laughs a sharp comic edge.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/30/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Taking the fish out of water concept to the extreme, this old-fashioned holiday comedy tries to revive Capra's zany screwball comedies like You Can't Take It With You

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
11/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A funny and emotionally resonant family drama about the value of seeing everyone as a work in progress and transcending our provisional and limited judgments of them.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
10/29/05
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
141 - 155 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
all

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