The Family Stone
By: Mark Runyon | Category: On DVD | 04/30/06 | 02:03 AM
 |  |  Grade: B | Genre: Comedy/Drama/Holiday
Summary: The Family Stone is a funny, poignant tale that never forgets that family is what make the season so very stressful and utterly priceless, all in the same breath.
It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't have a couple movies barreling into theatres hoping to spur on that holiday spirit. Goodness knows with the sparring over the hot toy of the season and waiting in three-hour lines for a moment on Santa's lap, our daily preparations can sour those extra helping of joy this time of year. This year's film, striving to be the companion to the Yule log and the carved turkey, is The Family Stone. With a big name cast and a sharp wit, Stone stands out as one of the better holiday fare we've seen in recent years. It almost makes up for having to suffer through Ben Affleck in Surviving Christmas. On second thought, there's not much that will be able to wash away the foul taste of that stinker. |
So it's Christmas time at the Stone household, and all the various children (five in total) are drawn in from across the country to descend on their parent's New England home for the annual festivities. This year we have a new member of the family to torment as eldest son Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings his fiance in the making, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), along to for the initial meeting of the family. Really it might not be so bad if Meredith weren't the most uptight person on the face of the Earth. As Ferris Bueller so aptly put it, "if you stuck a lump of coal up her ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond." Sensing blood in the water, the sharks circle the easy prey. Rounding out the happy household, we have the deaf, gay brother Thad (Ty Giordano); the tempestuous, troublemaking sister Amy (Rachael McAdams); the pot smoking, laid-back brother Ben (Luke Wilson); the pregnant, 'might as well be wallpaper' sister Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser); and finally we have the liberal, forward thinking parents, Sybil (Diane Keaton) and Kelly (Craig T. Nelson).
 | | | The Family Stone | | Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson & Tyrone Giordano | | Director: Thomas Bezucha |
| | View the Trailer (Quicktime) |
| |
|
The Stone's don't waste any time making Meredith feel right at home, accusing her of racism during a friendly game of Pictionary all the way to a very uncomfortable dinner party scene where even I wanted to slap the uneducated words right out of her mouth. It's a lot like Meet the Parents, but the differences are a lot more subtle and carefully drawn out. This is a comedy, but they make sure it never leaves its heart behind. So Meredith is sent bolting from the house to stay at the local inn, serving as her safe haven from the jackals for the weekend. She also recruits her sister Julie (the ravishing Claire Danes) to bus herself in, and be her wing girl to help her through the treacherous weekend. Julie adds a completely new dynamic to the picture as the Stones fawn over her, even going so far as to try to push her into the arms of artsy Ben. This outpouring of love for Julie takes Meredith aback, not knowing why the families' hatred seems laser focused on her. Plugging Julie into the equation opens a whole can of worms as certain family members start to have eyes for those they shouldn't, and next thing you know someone's waking up in someone's bed like some sordid version of the Jerry Springer Show. The film might have been better suited without the intra-family swingers session.
There is an element of tragedy to this story, which Santa says I must keep under wraps. It really adds another dimension to this script and keeps it from being just another surface-level Christmas comedy. This additional depth goes a long way to showing the love these characters feel for one another. They may be broiled down in a knock down drag out, but we know they're just seconds away from breaking down into a Kleenex-fest. Truthfully, I wish they would have explored this element of the story more fully.
Out of this all-star cast, Rachael McAdams (The Notebook, Red Eye) stands out as the bitchy sister whose mission in life seems to be tormenting poor Meredith into tears. Although she's a little frumpy with her grad school look in full effect, girl still has it going on. Diane Keaton also gives a strong performance as the spunky mom who speaks her mind, consequences be damned. She gets in some of the best lines of the film including matter of factly stating that Brad was the guy who "popped Amy's cherry." Ah moms, you've gotta love 'em. The only one I didn't really care for was Sarah Jessica Parker. She played the future fiance with the rod shoved up her butt a little too effectively. We could never really see what attracted Everett to her in the first place since she could never seem to let down her hair with him.
This film's strongest asset is it's honest portrayal of the family. Like it or not, family are those folks you're stuck with. Unlike friends or significant others, you get no say in the family you're born into, and the idea that we flock back together for every major holiday can be a scary thought for some. The Family Stone isn't afraid to show this family, warts and all. They are a mangled mess of personalities, each slowly working under each other's skin. They're quick to tease and pounce on each other's flaws, but if an outsider threatens a sister or a brother it morphs into something out of Animal Planet. Nobody will fight harder to protect those they love. That dynamic of love and irritation is such a tough balancing act to pull off, especially in these holiday films. Too much love, and its dripping in unrealistic sentimentality. Too little, and we fail to connect with the characters. The Family Stone really hits the nail on the head, delivering the perfect balance which creates rife comedy and spends ample time tugging at the heartstrings.
Besides the annoyance of the Sarah Jessica Parker character, the part of the film that didn't sit well with me was the ending. It certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't savvy enough to steer clear of the cliches it had done a decent job dodging for the hour and a half before it. Granted, it's a holiday film so everyone wants to file out of the theatre in a chipper mood, but come on. For once can't we crack a bit of realism into the mix? The Family Stone is a very good film that just may find its way into your holiday library in years to come along side It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story as well as modern classics like The Family Man. The Family Stone is a funny, poignant tale that never forgets that family is what make the season so very stressful and utterly priceless, all in the same breath.
Originally Posted: December 19, 2006
|
