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The Family Stone (Thomas Bezucha)
"The Family Stone Delivers, Even With It's Bogus Sub-Plots"
The Stone family get together for the Christmas holidays and one of their son's is bringing home his uptight girlfriend, with the hope of proposing. When the family takes it one step too far with the hostility towards her, she brings in her sister for comfort. This happens to cause more complications then solutions.
The Family Stone tries to pass itself off as a Christmas Holiday comedy, when it is totally different. The laughs are there, but it's not laugh out loud funny, instead the film is filled with more emotion then you will find in any other film this Christmas Season, that's if you have no love for a giant ape.
Bezucha has the support of a great cast. Graig T Nelson and Diane Keaton, as the parents, their pain in the ass daughter, Rachel McAddams, pregnant daughter, Elizabeth Reaser, weed smoking son, Luke Wilson, gay and Deaf son, Tyrone Giordano and of course their business man son, Dermot Mulroney, who's girlfriend is non other then Sarah Jessica Parker and her sister Claire Danes...did you get all that?
The Family Stone is indeed funny, but it's not necessarily the material that makes it funny, it's the amazing cast, that brings life to the jokes and craziness that this family is. Within the whole family, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAddams stand out, as basically the exact opposite to how they feel to Parker. McAddams hates her guts and Wilson has feelings for her. That single element to the film is one of the negatives.
Stone is a good film that has good laughs, but there is an underground feeling of sorrow in it. The film is more about the characters within the family then it is about the mishaps of Parker and the family. Once Parker's sister arrives, and you see the look Mulroney gives, you know exactly what the outcome of the film will be. This sub-plot is just too unbelievable to be taken seriously and takes the film down a notch because it's simply bogus and would never happen.
One scene that I laughed in which was not suppose to happen was the slow-motion part of Mulroney walking back home with a smile on his face. It's goofy and inappropriate for this type of film. I was having fun with the film and emotionally attached to it, until that scene and the final ending. The ending is suppose to be one of the sad parts of the entire film, but when you see it coming it really has no effect because in some cases you just want it to get over with.
Stone will have you laugh and possibly cry, but will also have you cursing out at some of the goofy and unbelievable scenes. With those aside, Stone is able to deliver the goods.
7.5/10
"The Family Stone Delivers, Even With It's Bogus Sub-Plots"
The Stone family get together for the Christmas holidays and one of their son's is bringing home his uptight girlfriend, with the hope of proposing. When the family takes it one step too far with the hostility towards her, she brings in her sister for comfort. This happens to cause more complications then solutions.
The Family Stone tries to pass itself off as a Christmas Holiday comedy, when it is totally different. The laughs are there, but it's not laugh out loud funny, instead the film is filled with more emotion then you will find in any other film this Christmas Season, that's if you have no love for a giant ape.
Bezucha has the support of a great cast. Graig T Nelson and Diane Keaton, as the parents, their pain in the ass daughter, Rachel McAddams, pregnant daughter, Elizabeth Reaser, weed smoking son, Luke Wilson, gay and Deaf son, Tyrone Giordano and of course their business man son, Dermot Mulroney, who's girlfriend is non other then Sarah Jessica Parker and her sister Claire Danes...did you get all that?
The Family Stone is indeed funny, but it's not necessarily the material that makes it funny, it's the amazing cast, that brings life to the jokes and craziness that this family is. Within the whole family, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAddams stand out, as basically the exact opposite to how they feel to Parker. McAddams hates her guts and Wilson has feelings for her. That single element to the film is one of the negatives.
Stone is a good film that has good laughs, but there is an underground feeling of sorrow in it. The film is more about the characters within the family then it is about the mishaps of Parker and the family. Once Parker's sister arrives, and you see the look Mulroney gives, you know exactly what the outcome of the film will be. This sub-plot is just too unbelievable to be taken seriously and takes the film down a notch because it's simply bogus and would never happen.
One scene that I laughed in which was not suppose to happen was the slow-motion part of Mulroney walking back home with a smile on his face. It's goofy and inappropriate for this type of film. I was having fun with the film and emotionally attached to it, until that scene and the final ending. The ending is suppose to be one of the sad parts of the entire film, but when you see it coming it really has no effect because in some cases you just want it to get over with.
Stone will have you laugh and possibly cry, but will also have you cursing out at some of the goofy and unbelievable scenes. With those aside, Stone is able to deliver the goods.
7.5/10