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The Family Stone

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The Family Stone (2005)

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Reviews Counted:147

Fresh:77

Rotten:70

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: This family holiday dramedy features fine performances but awkward shifts of tone.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some sexual content including dialogue, and drug references.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Dec 16, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $59,856,288

Synopsis: Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warmhearted and sentimental while possessing a razor-sharp hilarious mean streak. The... Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warmhearted and sentimental while possessing a razor-sharp hilarious mean streak. The fairly conventional story centers on Sarah Jessica Parker's uptight career woman, Meredith, and her run-in with the eponymous Stone family. With her permanently pursed lips and severe bun, SJP looks and acts the anti-Carrie Bradshaw here as, armed with cell phone and business-suit collection, she gears up to meet her fiance's oddball family, a tight-knit, colorful clan who border on bohemian. Matriarch Sybil (Diane Keaton) and patriarch Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) are a loving couple whose diverse children are affectionate and respectful. When Meredith's humorless aura infects the homestead, it is mom Sybil and sister Amy (Rachel McAdams), who sense a romantic mismatch and attack her venomously, sparking a tete-a-tete-a-tete between three feisty females. While this Battle Royal is waged, dramatic subplots brew in the background, one involving the deaf and gay brother Thad's desire to adopt a child, and the other a rather devastating secret on the verge of exposure. It is in the emergence of Meredith's refreshingly calm and breezy younger sister, Julie (Claire Danes), entering the film with a dramatic fall from a bus exit, that brings all conflict to a head. [More]

Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker

Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Elizabeth Reazer, Savannah Stehlin, Paul Schneider

Director: Thomas Bezucha

Director: Thomas Bezucha
Producer: Michael London
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Release:

Apr 21, 2009

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Reviews for The Family Stone

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald
N/R

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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
12/17/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
12/17/05
Boston Phoenix
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
N/R

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Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
12/16/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
N/R

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Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/17/05
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
N/R

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Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/20/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

The Family Stone aims to please, and lands precisely on so-so.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/15/05
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

I can’t deny the incidental pleasures of watching these talented players giving it their all, even in such a misguided project.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
01/05/06
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hits every conceivable chord, no matter how much of a stretch.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
12/15/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

...hits upon a couple of sad truths.

Full Review Source: Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) | comment Comment
12/26/05
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)

Ultra-contrived, but delivers an important message about tolerance.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/17/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The movie's stock base: pat revelations and cheap manipulations.

Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | comment Comment
12/19/05
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Now Playing Magazine

The movie feels a lot like slacker brother Ben: a little sloppy, mostly predictable, some flashes of poignancy and wisdom, but ultimately doesn't live up to its potential.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/22/06
Camerin Courtney
Camerin Courtney
Christianity Today

[The film] at times approximates the cozy hostility that can permeate real-life family gatherings. But then the movie's snap turns to sap, and edgy comedy becomes standard gazing-at-the-Christmas-tree warm fuzziness.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
12/16/05
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

An unpalatable slice of leftover holiday turkey ...

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
12/16/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Go ahead--throw the first stone. Throw it right at the screen. Take aim, wind up and let the rocks rip.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
12/24/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The Family Stone should have been a glittering holiday bauble along the lines of the irresistible Love Actually. Instead, Bezucha stuffs into our stockings what he thinks is good for us.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
12/16/05
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald

I can't think of an instance in which a film went from under-the-radar to wildly overhyped with the same speed as The Family Stone.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
12/15/05
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com
 
 
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