I wonder how a group of talented actors all make the mistake and end up in a sucky movie. I watched The Family Stone last night and it was bloody awful. I know Sarah Jessica Parker was just coming off of SITC and probably wanted to play a character far removed from fashionista Carrie, but seriously. Her character Meredith was dull, humorless, and worst of all, wore colorless blah gray wool suits.
The story tried to be one of those fish-out-of-water (Meredith) stories. (Everett) Dermot Mulroney brings his girlfriend Meredith home for Christmas to meet his wacky, liberal, close knit family. We know they’re liberal and ‘with it” because one of the sons is deaf, gay and in love with a black man. Another son (Luke Wilson) openly smokes pot in the house with the Dad played by the wonderful Craig T. Nelson. Mom Sybil, played by the illuminous Diane Keaton, is sick with cancer and has only a few months to live but refuses to tell the kids until after Christmas. They all hate Meredith. She wonders why. Duh.
SPOILER ALERT
Everett ends up falling for her sister played by Claire Danes. The audience sees that coming from a mile away—the way Everett’s eyes light up when he sees her getting off the bus.
Luke Wilson's Ben ends up falling for Meredith, who he said “Has a Freak Flag but is not flying it.”
The thing that pissed me off most about this movie is this: Meredith wants to fit in and so makes two giant pans of Strata (an egg casserole thing) for Christmas morning breakfast. After the BIG BLOW UP scene with all the family, she storms off into the kitchen and takes the two pans out of the refrigerator—oh no, not one at a time and places them on the kitchen island counter RIGHT BEHIND HER—she stacks them on top of one another and then Sybil and the Angry Daughter played by Rachel McAdams both go through the kitchen door and plow right into Meredith thereby spilling the Strata all over her and the kitchen floor. Various other family members fall and slide into it INSURING THAT HILARITY ENSUES. It. Does. Not. You just keep wondering “when is this pile of wasted mess over?”
Saving grace: When Sybil defends her gay, deaf son at the dinner table and tells him that he’s “more ‘normal’ than any of the other assholes sitting around this table.” It was a sweet scene.
Diane Keaton. Sarah Jessica Parker. Dermot. Craig T. I suppose I will forgive you.
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The only thing I liked about The Family Stone was that the actor who played the deaf gay son is actually deaf. I don't know if he is actually gay, but I could probably find out easily enough.
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