Fearless Writer ... Reviews

Stars: Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T Nelson, Luke Wilson
Director: Thomas Bezucha

If one were to judge The Family Stone from its opening pastiche, the first word coming to mind would be ‘trite’. Rich city couple doing some last minute shopping before heading to the suburbs for a nervous Christmas encounter with his parents (and he has secret plans to propose). When they arrive, her uptight demeanour clashes with his family’s loving, liberalist and somewhat overbearing atmosphere. So far the plot is interchangeable with any of a dozen Christmas or rom-com flicks.

Then something strange happens. Out of this rather barren parking lot of a setting, interesting characters start to emerge like spring flowers. Everett Stone (Mulroney) is sure he wants to marry Meredith Morton (Parker) until her sister Julie (Danes) turns up and he makes an unexpected connection with her. Meredith feels like an outcast in her beau’s family until the black sheep Ben (Luke Wilson) makes it his mission to set her at ease. Everett’s parents, Kelly (Nelson) and Sybil (Keaton) seem to be perfect, but they are hiding a dark secret from their kids. And then there's the fuss over Grandma's wedding ring... Holy three dimensions, Batman, these characters actually have some internal conflict!

The Family Stone is one of those movies that manage to rise above their station, both through winning its performances and the way it effortlessly vacillates between genres. Where many such films stumble from comedy to drama with all the grace of a drunkard in steel-cap boots, The Family Stone guides us from one to the other so gently that it’s hard to pin down exactly where the transition took place. It also conjures up a pleasant yuletide atmosphere – even if you happen to watch it on a Thursday night in March.

Sometimes The Family Stone goes too far. The slapstick mini-climax feels like one genres too many thrown in the pot, the addition of a gay couple seems rather gratuitous (one’s deaf and one’s black too, just in case we missed the Stone family’s open-mindedness) and the swift change in characters’ attitudes stretches plausibility. But it’s easy to forgive these faults because of the blissful, almost dreamy viewing it provides. And if it wasn’t for all the nauseating, saccharine and far inferior films that have been labelled ‘feel-good’, The Family Stone might deserve that tag as well.

VERDICT: 3.5/5

5/5 The Empire Strikes Back
4/5 Star Wars
3/5 Revenge of the Sith
2/5 Attack of the Clones
1/5 The Phantom Menace