*Holiday Favorite*
A Change-Up from your Average Holiday Chic Flic
It's Christmas and Everett Stone (Dermott Mulroney) is a highly successful businessman who finds this year to be the one to invite his highly conservative girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) home to meet his family. Little does Meredith know that Everett's family is tight knit, free-spirited, and ultra liberal. All things that she knows nothing about. After just a day at the Stone's, Meredith feels completely out of place and invites her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to help her get through Christmas. During the family Stone Christmas, feelings will be hurt and mended, secrets heard and spread, and love lost and found again.
What I will say is that I liked The Family Stone, but that was as far as I got. The movie was advertised as a romantic comedy and though it did center around the son Everett and his love life, that part of the movie was flimsy and underdeveloped. For instance, Claire Danes enters as Meredith's sister only more smooth around the edges and she hasn't been there for more than 5 hours when *spoiler alert* one of the brother's is running after her telling her that he can't live without her. I kept wondering if my dvd had a huge scratch on it and I missed a part of the movie?!? That said, I still enjoyed the movie and that was because of the on-screen chemistry between all of the actors. If I didn't know better, I seriously would have thought that they were all siblings! I also liked the realistic viewpoint of a family, it felt real and emotionally raw. A family that doesn't know how to deal with someone that may be a little different than what they are. So I enjoyed watching the family pull together, shift paradigms and support the choices that each of them make. So The Family Stone may not be what I signed up for in a romantic comedy but it was engaging and realistic, a change up from your average Holiday chic flic.
Motherly Advice: I had all of my filters on at least medium due to the ultra heavy issues that The Family Stone dives into. Two of the main characters are gay and there are a few scenes that deal with the nature vs. nurture debate so be ready. Also, you'll see some of the adults making reference to and actually getting high from some drug infused brownies. Add all of that along with alchohol consumption and a bar scene, I'd recommend this movie for ages 17 and up.
Trisha~Loved the change-up, but still love a good ol' fashioned Holiday chic-flic.
Posts
