The Family Stone

Went to see The Family Stone last night. It wasn’t very good. It was an attempt at a kooky family Christmas film that fell flat due to its incomplete execution.

The big arc in the film is how Dermot Mulroney’s family don’t like his girlfriend Sarah Jessica Parker. They don’t just not like her they HATE her. Except they don’t really convey this bar a couple of snide remarks and there’s no real reason given as to why they would hate her.

Two romances in the film come out of nowhere, one in particular hinting at a bit of back story, but as that never materialises we have to assume that the hot romance took place over 24 hours.

What holds it up for its running time is the mainly likeable cast and the picturesque snowy little town setting. TV’s Coach Craig T. Nelson and Diane Keaton make pleasing parents, for the most part, although her borne out of nothing hatred for Sarah Jessica Parker’s character put me off her a bit. Rachel McAdams did a passable grouchy younger sister and Luke Wilson and Claire Danes were inoffensive enough. It missed a comedy character, one of those, he’s-just-there-for-the-laughs kind of roles.

For some reason I’ve never liked Dermot Mulroney and his stupid face. Maybe it’s because in real life he’s married to Catherine Keener.

All in all give The Family Stone a miss, as I’m sure you were intending anyway.

Jonathan Ross's review has wound me up enough to add some more.

"Luke Wilson is splendid..." the reliable Luke Wilson turns in a laid back performance playing a character with no real depth who goes from creepy weirdo to romantic hero with no stops in between.

"Diane Keaton...beautifully restrained and understated..." it helps to be understated if your character is underdeveloped. Keaton's character is the focal point for all the other characters to come together, but this is never fully explored and what should have been a touching story thread seems clumsily handled.

"Sarah Jessica Parker's excellent performance as the brittle, unlikeable newcomer..." SJP puts in a perfectly fine performance, her character's 'unlikeable' qualities come mainly during a ham-fisted bit of dialogue as she gets herself into deep water with the family over some apparently homophobic comments. However by this point in the film the family already hate her and all seem to fly into a rage at what comes across as someone failing to find the right words to make an ill advised comment.

Don't let the quality actors or familiar setting and storyline in this film fool you. It's a badly orchestrated attempt at a feel good family film. It features a clip of Judy Garland in Meet Me in St Louis and that's the kind of film it would like to be, but it's much closer to the Home For the Holidays camp.