I am literally a month late with this. Christmas is so far behind us that if you turned and looked over your shoulder it would just be a speck on the horizon. Nevertheless, I have to review The Family Stone. It's a family movie, but not a movie for families--no, this is a movie about a family.
Everett Stone is the eldest son of the Stone clan, and his mother's favorite: Sybil, played by Diane Keaton, has promised him her mother's wedding ring for his future wife. And he seems to have found that wife--or, at least the girl he takes home to his mother. Unfortunately, the moment that Sarah Jessica Parker meets the Stones is also the same time that everything goes to, well. You know.
Sarah as Meredith appears to be everything the Stone's aren't: polite, clean-cut, prudish. She's also deeply, deeply unhappy, and wields an armor of self-assurance as though to ward against all possible heartbreak. The Stones notice this.
What I love about this movie is how unabashedly inappropriate it is. The Stones make no bones (ha!) about the fact that they don't like her for Everett. (Sybil and sister Amy, played by Rachel McAdams, are particularly adamant on this fact.) Meanwhile, Everett is of little to no help, and seems just as confused as his family to find Meredith in his life, despite the fact that he plans on marrying her.
Her relationship crumbling, her mental health in shambles, Sarah-as-Meredith then proceeds to fall in lust ... with Everett's younger brother, Ben. (Played by Luke Wilson. But honestly, how could anyone not fall in lust with Luke Wilson?) Just to pile it on Everett meets Meredith's sister, played by Claire Danes, and seems to fall in love instantly. The only person not enjoying a moment of personal romantic fulfillment is Amy, until her high school crush shows up. It's a hell of a show.
The Family Stone is not an award-winning movie, and it doesn't aspire to be. But despite the crazy plot twists and the insane romantic machinations there is something so true about it that you can't help but watch. Like, yes, of course Luke Wilson's character eats pot brownies with his dad! Of course!
Sarah Jessica Parker's performance is the other best aspect of the film. Meredith is a workaholic and too anal, and too unhappy, to be likable. As Ben says to her, "You have a freak flag. You just don't fly it." Her decision to fly that freak flag, to give up the ghost and just be herself, is what propels the movie from mediocre to having a slim margin of greatness. She's is a testament to the fact that you don't have to be lovable to be loved, and despite having on paper the most unlikeable character, Meredith is the one you end up rooting for.
Conversely, the disappointment in all this might just be Everett. Dermot Mulraney's normally striking reticence works against him here, and we're left with a main lead who is barely noticeable against the backdrop of such a strong supporting cast.
The Family Stone came out in 2005, has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can very much find it online or on DVD.
***
Addendum: if you would prefer a non-Christmas themed family movie, check out City Island (2010). It has some of the more humorous notes and stars Andy Garcia. Win-win.
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