La joya de la familia

I'm going to keep it short since I just did a rewatch after having seen it almost 20 years ago, yes, time flies, isn't it...? And something still irks me to this day, I remember quite well it was advertised then, as it is today in Netflix, as a "Christmas" movie, and I mean, sure, it is winter, there is snow, and there are a couple of extra things that has to be there but it is a bit too much on the nose at times, I know, I know, it was 2005, but the low punches since the very beginning where a bit too much, and of course it is going to make you cry for all the wrong reasons in this genre but anyway, maybe watch it in any other time of the year? While you are not depressed/sad already, of course.

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.

Thomas Bezucha's 'The Family Stone' surprised me. I expected a catty WASPish family satire – that, at least, was the impression given in most reviews. I liked this a great deal. The discomfort felt by Sarah Jessica Parker's uptight career girl as she spends Christmas with her partner's close-knit New England liberal family is used to good effect, but as much awkwardness is felt as a result of their jibes as by her tactlessness, so she's not marked out solely as a stooge. Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams (the best thing in Wes Craven's 'Red Eye'), Luke Wilson (a much better actor than brother Owen) and Diane Keaton also give fine turns, and Craig T. Nelson - another much underrated character actor – is perfectly cast Keaton's husband. It's occasionally sentimental, as certain family secrets are revealed, but never in a sickly manner, and works principally because it's that rare Hollywood beast, a genuinely well written ensemble piece. Good work Mr Bezucha. Worth a look.

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.

Honoring Diane Keaton. And now I've got a few more Diane Keaton movies added to my Watchlist. I've seen quite a lot of her but there are still a few that I could try out.

First impression - love that Diane Keaton just looks and dresses like herself while playing a character in this movie. I think she did that in a lot of these lighter movies and she was probably given free rein with her character, as she should. She is gorgeous. Second - how many children did this woman give birth to?

Everybody's mean to Meredith and that's probably like three quarters of the movie, and while Sarah Jessica Parker does her best to make her tough to like, she doesn't deserve it. At some point it really became too much, they could just ignore her. This is not really a comedy, I don't even understand how they marketed this, it's just downright mean and then it went sideways in a big way. I did not understand the low rating watching it but when Everett started going for Julie and Ben was practically hitting on Meredith every chance he got it just lost me completely. Meredith and Ben are a case of opposites attract that wouldn't make it for long in the real world, not with her career and Everett and Julie is just so damn creepy in that entire context, it's just bad timing and in bad taste and I really hope people don't do this in real life cause I will disinherit family over that. So yeah, that's how I rated this movie, despite the fact that it's got an amazing cast and they all played their insufferable roles to perfection.