The Family Stone (2005) Reviews

• Despite Bait and Switch Trailer, STONE Cold Good Cinema!

  TonyKissCastillo2016-02-14

  ***** This Review May Contain MINOR Spoilers! ***** The Previews of The Family Stone seemed to hold out the promise of a genuinely light and thoroughly amusing comedy, perhaps a bit over-the-top, but focused on the cultural differences between a very liberal family, (giving the impression that the parents were, perhaps, "Hippies" back in the 60's) and a super-conservative and tightly wound woman, engaged to one of their sons. The problem is that the film showcased in the theatrical trailer plus the marketing campaign launched to promote it, vs. the actual movie you see in the theater have absolutely nothing in common! Unfortunately, previews sole raison d'etre apparently is to get people into the theater. It doesn't seem to matter in the least to these people if the expectation generated by the short is totally out of sync with the experience given by the film. Thusly, it is easy to understand the plethora of reviewers who were livid with these bait and switch tactics! At its core, Family Stone is much more of a serious film that attempts to underscore the importance of cohesive family life, and how family unity can overcome obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, such as sharing and then getting over the pain of the loss of one of their own. The cast is remarkable. Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Craig T. Nelson. Almost all of them renowned actors, who conform a superb ensemble cast. If you enjoy family dramas with a healthy dose of comic relief, Family Stone is far and away better than most films of its kind… 8*STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

• Horrible film about horrible people

  sarmoti_tiger2006-04-07

  Everett (Mulroney) takes his "uptight" city girlfriend Meredith (SJP) home to meet his family for Christmas. His family turns out to be the biggest bunch of fake, hypocritical, horrible and judgemental people you'll ever meet and have decided, even without meeting Meredith, that she's unworthy of any hospitality. Let's think - boyfriend brings you home to meet the family – anyone would feel nervous. However, when Meredith greets the family in a slightly shaky voice, it is only further proof that she's not "free-spirited" enough to join their happy clan in the hills. I'm not sure why exactly the family did not like her but I THINK it may have something to do with the fact that she was super polite and tried to be respectful. I mean, no doubt, the family would have accepted her in a sec if she pranced through the door, ripped her clothes off and asked them to join her around the fire to smoke pot. The horrible sister Amy (McAdams) says she hates Meredith because Meredith once took her to a nice restaurant and she also likes to clear her throat. Let's remind Meredith to bring Amy to a back alley for dinner next time and keep the phlegm gargled at the back of her mouth. The mother (Keaton) joins in the fun as is also, horrible; Ben (Wilson), the hippie brother falls for Meredith at first sight (so we can assume that his love for her is shallow and only physical) and starts hitting on her despite the fact that she's his brother's girlfriend. Etc. There's also the gay deaf brother who has a black boyfriend. This very brother tells Everett straight on "please don't marry her (Meredith)" although he has known the girl for less than 24 hours. You'd think he'd understand the importance of being supportive and non-judgemental… Meredith eventually calls her sister Julie (Danes) in for help. Julie is the opposite of Meredith - she's free spirited and is probably the president of the "save the whales while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro" club (She falls off the bus and she doesn't even care!!). Everett falls for her at first sight (so again, we assume this is only physical because he knows nothing about her). Way to go Everett, fall for your girlfriend's sister on the day you plan to propose to her!! Immediately, the family flocks to Julie like flies to a carcass while Meredith is helping with dinner and is lonerised in the corner. At the dinner table (and this is the scene which made me so upset for Meredith that I ACTUALLY cried), Julie asks the gay brother questions about what race he wants his adopted child to be (since he's in an interracial relationship). Julie touches on the issue of race and everyone smiles, giving it the "that's a very good profound question" nod. Then Meredith brings up the topic of homosexuality, asking if he thinks it's going to affect the child. OK, maybe she didn't phrase it well but it was obvious she was NOT being a homophobe (If she WAS homophobic, would she be eating dinner with 2 gay men AND spend the entire afternoon with the gay black guy in the kitchen??). Meredith is surprised by the fact that the mother says she "wished all 3 of her children would be gay" and the family immediately labels her as the disgusting narrow-minded a-hole (yes and the father even yells at Meredith). Funny that, When Julie asks, the family sees her as being "curious and interested" but when Meredith asks, she's "offensive and rude". Naturally, Meredith runs out in tears. Ben runs after her while the BOYFRIEND just sits there. Julie doesn't look too bothered either and instead of seriously looking for her, the two end up having a pleasant little walk in the snow, talking about their dreams and goals. It's disparing that Ben, the brother who's known Meredith for only a couple of days seems to be more concerned about her well-being than her own boyfriend and sister. Everett even has the audacity to ask Julie if she wants to "go get a coffee" while Meredith is still missing!!! Meredith spends time with Ben, get a coupla beers and suddenly turns "free-spirited" (she lets her hair down!! REBEL!) Then we know what happens, they end up in the same room (though they don't sleep together) and Everett realizes he loves Julie. Everett tries to get Julie to try on the wedding ring he intended to give Meredith. When Julie kinda refuses, he almost forces it onto her finger...romantic. I find it even more disturbing though, that as a sister, Julie didn't go up to Meredith and say something like "dude, your boyfriend is totally hitting on me". Instead, she starts to feel that she also loves this strange man that she's just met the day before (though there is no indication of any type of relationship development between the two. Finally, everyone confronts everyone and then follows the typical, everyone starts fighting, they all fall down and start laughing out loud together and then it seems that all the meaness from before is forgotten and everyone becomes best friends forever. Meredith ends up with Ben and Everett the a-hole ends up with Julie the a-hole. Meredith seems to be TOTALLY OK with that and neither the sister or Everett seems to feel bad at all (note, the two began flirting with each other while Meredith was still going out with Everett). Who cares, Meredith will have the joy of telling her nephews and nieces "I, your auntie, slept with your father". And inbetween all of this, we find out the mother has breast cancer. So there's a lot of crying from the family, then a lot of meaness, then a lot of crying, then a lot of, you get the idea. I'm still confused as to how the cancer bit fits with the "romantic comedy"

• A Messed Up Movie About a Messed Up Family

  Chrysanthepop2008-04-28

  If that sounds positive then that's not how intended for it to seem. First, I'm glad I didn't buy the DVD. Seeing the cast, I was tempted to get it but thought perhaps I should watch it first. This is one bad movie. Yes, it has the usual clichés and a lot of it resemble 'Meet the Parents' and it sometimes tries to be 'The Royal Tenenbaums' but it has an unusual twist which only makes the film far worse. Anyway, starting with the good things is that it 'looks' polished and has a good cast. That's it. The bad? The writing. The characters are not likable, half-baked and one-dimensional, neither the relationships between the characters nor the characters themselves are well developed. I mean Everett was extremely quick to fall in love with his girlfriend's sister (what the hell? love at first sight? and that too while he was still dating AND about to propose to Meredith). Then in another scene Meredith too realizes after a couple of shots that she's free spirited (and becomes so immediately). Meredith's sister Julie too doesn't seem to care much of what her sister is going through and the two get together right after her sister breaks up with him. Everett's brother Ben too, in one glance realizes that Meredith is the woman for him. This whole switching with partner's sibling was icky to say the least. The whole family seem to be against Meredith when they have never met her before, they hardly give her a chance and they behave extremely rude to her. even though in the beginning she's hard to like, Meredith later on does make some effort. Yet, they immediately like her sister Sarah. How ridiculous! Oh there's too many wrong with this film and I think I've listed enough. At the same time the film tries to juggle too many themes. It tries to touch them lightly but only make it more clichéd. I mean, there's a gay deaf brother, a more laid back brother, a bitchy sister and a normal sister, a sick mother and a father trying to hold it all together. It all becomes a mess during that one dinner table scene when Meredith brings up the issue of raising homosexual children being a challenge and the whole family, including her boyfriend (who's supposed to know her) treat her in an unbelievably hostile manner) and when she leaves the room all upset, her boyfriend just sits there while the brother rushes out to comfort her. Some viewers have mentioned that the family was under a lot of stress due to the mother's breast cancer which is why they projected all the negativity towards Meredith. Yet, they are the perfect host to Sarah. Here, I go again pointing out the flaws. Anyway, the cast is good and I watched the movie mainly because of the cast. However, with such poorly written roles (on top of that none of the characters have any likable trait), it is hard for the characters to really impress. The Stones really seemed like a family thanks to the talented actors, all of whom share a good chemistry: Craig T. Nelson as the father, Rachel McAdams as the mean sister, Tyrone Giordano as the calm brother, Luke Wilson as the mellow one, Dermot Mulroney as the older brother, Elizabeth Reaser as the married pregnant sister and Diane Keaton as the loving sick mother. Claire Danes's Sarah Morton looks forced and sadly she can't do much with the horrible part. Sarah Jessica Parker shows shades of her famous Carrie Bradshaw persona but she's quite okay as the uptight girlfriend. Anyway, I'm done with analyzing this horror. It's sad to see such a great cast wasted on an atrocious film. I wonder how the makers got them to do this.

• An unkind chaos

  randl1999-22006-01-16

  I must disagree with many of the film's critics who found this to be a pleasant and amusing view of a complicated family holiday reunion. Perhaps because of my background as a mental health professional, I found this to be a very confusing and inconsistent attempt to picture what could have been a funny family event. The writers touched so many bases that one wonders if five families could have contained the many quirks, pathologies and eccentricities found in this single unit. My overall impression was of the incredible nastiness this family displayed toward the fiancée of the eldest son, a person no one but the youngest daughter had ever met, but who became the target of hostility, primarily based on the report given by the nasty little sister. The fact that the parents were incapable of maintaining even a modicum of civility or to set the example for the children, speaks to their dysfunction rather than the humor of the situation. Yes, I realize that a terminal illness was also an issue, and yes, Keaton is a fine actress, but her character failed the test of grace--more the writer's fault than Keaton's. I think that what would actually have happened in this situation is that either the eldest son would have upbraided his family for their boorish and cruel behavior, taken his fiancée and left(if he was really committed)telling them they could call him when they grew up; or, the fiancée, seeing that he was not really committed, would have left, herself. However, had either of these things happened, the movie would have been about 20 minutes long, too short for Roger Ebert to have waxed eloquent.

• Talented actors have fun with a familiar premise

  marissas752006-03-17

  The premise of "The Family Stone" sounds a little shopworn: Everett Stone brings his uptight girlfriend Meredith home for Christmas to meet his large family, who instantly dislike her. Even worse, the trailer reveals most of the plot's complications. However, this premise has been used so often because it reliably provides opportunities for comedy, drama, and insight into family dynamics. "The Family Stone" proves itself a better-than-average example of the genre because of its talented cast and reasonably intelligent script. Sarah Jessica Parker's presence ensures that Meredith always remains sympathetic, even when we can also perfectly understand why she irritates the Stones. The various Stones-- Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson--make the most of their roles, and, more importantly, they really do start to seem like a family, not a random collection of actors. The only actor who fails to make an impression is Claire Danes, who can't do much with the underwritten role of Meredith's sister Julie. "The Family Stone" is not a groundbreaking movie, but it goes beyond the fish-out-of-water clichés that its plot might suggest. It finds the emotional truth, as well as the humor, in Meredith's situation. Plus, it's extremely evenhanded: all of the characters are flawed but likable, and in a climactic argument at the dinner table, both Meredith and Sibyl make valid points. Reviewers on this site have accused the movie of pushing a liberal agenda via its sympathetic portrayal of an interracial gay couple and a semi-bohemian family--and of pushing a conservative agenda via its portrayal of the Stones as hypocritical liberals who pay lip service to tolerance but are prejudiced against people like Meredith. Personally, I'm not sure if "The Family Stone" has any agenda, other than to cast good actors in a holiday comedy-drama that doesn't insult its audience's intelligence. And it succeeds pretty well at that.