Synopsis:
FAMILY STONE: Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warm-hearted and sentimental while possessing a razor-sharp hilarious mean...
FAMILY STONE: Destined to be a Christmas classic, Thomas Bezucha's dazzling dramedy, THE FAMILY STONE, manages to be both warm-hearted 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 (one wonders which came first, the title or the script). 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.
ONE FINE DAY: George Clooney plays a rakish, irresponsible, and sexy single dad and Michelle Pfeiffer is a neurotic, standoffish, and sexy single mom in this likeable, fast-paced romantic comedy. Melanie Parker is an architect and a perfectionist workaholic who has no time for a social life. Unfortunately, things spin out of her control on the day of the biggest presentation of her career, when her son Sammy shows up late to school and misses the class field trip; he is left in Melanie's care for the day. Jack Taylor, a feckless newspaper reporter, finds himself in much the same situation when his newly married ex-wife leaves their daughter Maggie with him for a week, requiring a level of responsibility he is unprepared for. The two meet in front of the school and sparks--of the ill-tempered kind--fly, as each projects onto the other the faults of their exes. Eventually, however, as both race to save their jobs while keeping their kids intact, their true feelings for one another emerge. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for the best original song ("For the First Time").
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