Everett (Mulroney) takes his "uptight" city girlfriend Meredith (SJP) home to meet his family for Christmas. His family turns out to be the biggest bunch of fake, hypocritical, horrible and judgemental people you'll ever meet and have decided, even without meeting Meredith, that she's unworthy of any hospitality.

Let's think - boyfriend brings you home to meet the family – anyone would feel nervous. However, when Meredith greets the family in a slightly shaky voice, it is only further proof that she's not "free-spirited" enough to join their happy clan in the hills. I'm not sure why exactly the family did not like her but I THINK it may have something to do with the fact that she was super polite and tried to be respectful. I mean, no doubt, the family would have accepted her in a sec if she pranced through the door, ripped her clothes off and asked them to join her around the fire to smoke pot.

The horrible sister Amy (McAdams) says she hates Meredith because Meredith once took her to a nice restaurant and she also likes to clear her throat. Let's remind Meredith to bring Amy to a back alley for dinner next time and keep the phlegm gargled at the back of her mouth. The mother (Keaton) joins in the fun as is also, horrible; Ben (Wilson), the hippie brother falls for Meredith at first sight (so we can assume that his love for her is shallow and only physical) and starts hitting on her despite the fact that she's his brother's girlfriend. Etc.

There's also the gay deaf brother who has a black boyfriend. This very brother tells Everett straight on "please don't marry her (Meredith)" although he has known the girl for less than 24 hours. You'd think he'd understand the importance of being supportive and non-judgemental…

Meredith eventually calls her sister Julie (Danes) in for help. Julie is the opposite of Meredith - she's free spirited and is probably the president of the "save the whales while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro" club (She falls off the bus and she doesn't even care!!). Everett falls for her at first sight (so again, we assume this is only physical because he knows nothing about her). Way to go Everett, fall for your girlfriend's sister on the day you plan to propose to her!! Immediately, the family flocks to Julie like flies to a carcass while Meredith is helping with dinner and is lonerised in the corner. At the dinner table (and this is the scene which made me so upset for Meredith that I ACTUALLY cried), Julie asks the gay brother questions about what race he wants his adopted child to be (since he's in an interracial relationship). Julie touches on the issue of race and everyone smiles, giving it the "that's a very good profound question" nod. Then Meredith brings up the topic of homosexuality, asking if he thinks it's going to affect the child. OK, maybe she didn't phrase it well but it was obvious she was NOT being a homophobe (If she WAS homophobic, would she be eating dinner with 2 gay men AND spend the entire afternoon with the gay black guy in the kitchen??). Meredith is surprised by the fact that the mother says she "wished all 3 of her children would be gay" and the family immediately labels her as the disgusting narrow-minded a-hole (yes and the father even yells at Meredith). Funny that, When Julie asks, the family sees her as being "curious and interested" but when Meredith asks, she's "offensive and rude".

Naturally, Meredith runs out in tears. Ben runs after her while the BOYFRIEND just sits there. Julie doesn't look too bothered either and instead of seriously looking for her, the two end up having a pleasant little walk in the snow, talking about their dreams and goals. It's disparing that Ben, the brother who's known Meredith for only a couple of days seems to be more concerned about her well-being than her own boyfriend and sister. Everett even has the audacity to ask Julie if she wants to "go get a coffee" while Meredith is still missing!!! Meredith spends time with Ben, get a coupla beers and suddenly turns "free-spirited" (she lets her hair down!! REBEL!) Then we know what happens, they end up in the same room (though they don't sleep together) and Everett realizes he loves Julie. Everett tries to get Julie to try on the wedding ring he intended to give Meredith. When Julie kinda refuses, he almost forces it onto her finger...romantic. I find it even more disturbing though, that as a sister, Julie didn't go up to Meredith and say something like "dude, your boyfriend is totally hitting on me". Instead, she starts to feel that she also loves this strange man that she's just met the day before (though there is no indication of any type of relationship development between the two. Finally, everyone confronts everyone and then follows the typical, everyone starts fighting, they all fall down and start laughing out loud together and then it seems that all the meaness from before is forgotten and everyone becomes best friends forever.

Meredith ends up with Ben and Everett the a-hole ends up with Julie the a-hole. Meredith seems to be TOTALLY OK with that and neither the sister or Everett seems to feel bad at all (note, the two began flirting with each other while Meredith was still going out with Everett). Who cares, Meredith will have the joy of telling her nephews and nieces "I, your auntie, slept with your father".

And inbetween all of this, we find out the mother has breast cancer. So there's a lot of crying from the family, then a lot of meaness, then a lot of crying, then a lot of, you get the idea. I'm still confused as to how the cancer bit fits with the "romantic comedy"

***** This Review May Contain MINOR Spoilers! *****

The Previews of The Family Stone seemed to hold out the promise of a genuinely light and thoroughly amusing comedy, perhaps a bit over-the-top, but focused on the cultural differences between a very liberal family, (giving the impression that the parents were, perhaps, "Hippies" back in the 60's) and a super-conservative and tightly wound woman, engaged to one of their sons.

The problem is that the film showcased in the theatrical trailer plus the marketing campaign launched to promote it, vs. the actual movie you see in the theater have absolutely nothing in common! Unfortunately, previews sole raison d'etre apparently is to get people into the theater. It doesn't seem to matter in the least to these people if the expectation generated by the short is totally out of sync with the experience given by the film.

Thusly, it is easy to understand the plethora of reviewers who were livid with these bait and switch tactics! At its core, Family Stone is much more of a serious film that attempts to underscore the importance of cohesive family life, and how family unity can overcome obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, such as sharing and then getting over the pain of the loss of one of their own.

The cast is remarkable. Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Craig T. Nelson. Almost all of them renowned actors, who conform a superb ensemble cast. If you enjoy family dramas with a healthy dose of comic relief, Family Stone is far and away better than most films of its kind…

8*STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

If that sounds positive then that's not how intended for it to seem. First, I'm glad I didn't buy the DVD. Seeing the cast, I was tempted to get it but thought perhaps I should watch it first. This is one bad movie. Yes, it has the usual clichés and a lot of it resemble 'Meet the Parents' and it sometimes tries to be 'The Royal Tenenbaums' but it has an unusual twist which only makes the film far worse. Anyway, starting with the good things is that it 'looks' polished and has a good cast. That's it.

The bad? The writing. The characters are not likable, half-baked and one-dimensional, neither the relationships between the characters nor the characters themselves are well developed. I mean Everett was extremely quick to fall in love with his girlfriend's sister (what the hell? love at first sight? and that too while he was still dating AND about to propose to Meredith). Then in another scene Meredith too realizes after a couple of shots that she's free spirited (and becomes so immediately). Meredith's sister Julie too doesn't seem to care much of what her sister is going through and the two get together right after her sister breaks up with him. Everett's brother Ben too, in one glance realizes that Meredith is the woman for him. This whole switching with partner's sibling was icky to say the least. The whole family seem to be against Meredith when they have never met her before, they hardly give her a chance and they behave extremely rude to her. even though in the beginning she's hard to like, Meredith later on does make some effort. Yet, they immediately like her sister Sarah. How ridiculous! Oh there's too many wrong with this film and I think I've listed enough.

At the same time the film tries to juggle too many themes. It tries to touch them lightly but only make it more clichéd. I mean, there's a gay deaf brother, a more laid back brother, a bitchy sister and a normal sister, a sick mother and a father trying to hold it all together. It all becomes a mess during that one dinner table scene when Meredith brings up the issue of raising homosexual children being a challenge and the whole family, including her boyfriend (who's supposed to know her) treat her in an unbelievably hostile manner) and when she leaves the room all upset, her boyfriend just sits there while the brother rushes out to comfort her. Some viewers have mentioned that the family was under a lot of stress due to the mother's breast cancer which is why they projected all the negativity towards Meredith. Yet, they are the perfect host to Sarah. Here, I go again pointing out the flaws.

Anyway, the cast is good and I watched the movie mainly because of the cast. However, with such poorly written roles (on top of that none of the characters have any likable trait), it is hard for the characters to really impress. The Stones really seemed like a family thanks to the talented actors, all of whom share a good chemistry: Craig T. Nelson as the father, Rachel McAdams as the mean sister, Tyrone Giordano as the calm brother, Luke Wilson as the mellow one, Dermot Mulroney as the older brother, Elizabeth Reaser as the married pregnant sister and Diane Keaton as the loving sick mother. Claire Danes's Sarah Morton looks forced and sadly she can't do much with the horrible part. Sarah Jessica Parker shows shades of her famous Carrie Bradshaw persona but she's quite okay as the uptight girlfriend.

Anyway, I'm done with analyzing this horror. It's sad to see such a great cast wasted on an atrocious film. I wonder how the makers got them to do this.

The premise of "The Family Stone" sounds a little shopworn: Everett Stone brings his uptight girlfriend Meredith home for Christmas to meet his large family, who instantly dislike her. Even worse, the trailer reveals most of the plot's complications. However, this premise has been used so often because it reliably provides opportunities for comedy, drama, and insight into family dynamics. "The Family Stone" proves itself a better-than-average example of the genre because of its talented cast and reasonably intelligent script.

Sarah Jessica Parker's presence ensures that Meredith always remains sympathetic, even when we can also perfectly understand why she irritates the Stones. The various Stones-- Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson--make the most of their roles, and, more importantly, they really do start to seem like a family, not a random collection of actors. The only actor who fails to make an impression is Claire Danes, who can't do much with the underwritten role of Meredith's sister Julie.

"The Family Stone" is not a groundbreaking movie, but it goes beyond the fish-out-of-water clichés that its plot might suggest. It finds the emotional truth, as well as the humor, in Meredith's situation. Plus, it's extremely evenhanded: all of the characters are flawed but likable, and in a climactic argument at the dinner table, both Meredith and Sibyl make valid points. Reviewers on this site have accused the movie of pushing a liberal agenda via its sympathetic portrayal of an interracial gay couple and a semi-bohemian family--and of pushing a conservative agenda via its portrayal of the Stones as hypocritical liberals who pay lip service to tolerance but are prejudiced against people like Meredith. Personally, I'm not sure if "The Family Stone" has any agenda, other than to cast good actors in a holiday comedy-drama that doesn't insult its audience's intelligence. And it succeeds pretty well at that.

I must disagree with many of the film's critics who found this to be a pleasant and amusing view of a complicated family holiday reunion. Perhaps because of my background as a mental health professional, I found this to be a very confusing and inconsistent attempt to picture what could have been a funny family event. The writers touched so many bases that one wonders if five families could have contained the many quirks, pathologies and eccentricities found in this single unit. My overall impression was of the incredible nastiness this family displayed toward the fiancée of the eldest son, a person no one but the youngest daughter had ever met, but who became the target of hostility, primarily based on the report given by the nasty little sister. The fact that the parents were incapable of maintaining even a modicum of civility or to set the example for the children, speaks to their dysfunction rather than the humor of the situation. Yes, I realize that a terminal illness was also an issue, and yes, Keaton is a fine actress, but her character failed the test of grace--more the writer's fault than Keaton's.

I think that what would actually have happened in this situation is that either the eldest son would have upbraided his family for their boorish and cruel behavior, taken his fiancée and left(if he was really committed)telling them they could call him when they grew up; or, the fiancée, seeing that he was not really committed, would have left, herself. However, had either of these things happened, the movie would have been about 20 minutes long, too short for Roger Ebert to have waxed eloquent.

......................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL

***** This Review May Contain MINOR Spoilers! *****

The Previews of The Family Stone seemed to hold out the promise of a genuinely light and thoroughly amusing comedy, perhaps a bit over-the-top, but focused on the cultural differences between a very liberal family, (giving the impression that the parents were, perhaps, "Hippies" back in the 60's) and a super-conservative and tightly wound woman, engaged to one of their sons.

The problem is that the film showcased in the theatrical trailer plus the marketing campaign launched to promote it, vs. the actual movie you see in the theater have absolutely nothing in common! Unfortunately, previews sole raison d'etre apparently is to get people into the theater. It doesn't seem to matter in the least to these people if the expectation generated by the short is totally out of sync with the experience given by the film.

Thusly, it is easy to understand the plethora of reviewers who were livid with these bait and switch tactics! At its core, Family Stone is much more of a serious film that attempts to underscore the importance of cohesive family life, and how family unity can overcome obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, such as sharing and then getting over the pain of the loss of one of their own.

The cast is remarkable. Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Craig T. Nelson. Almost all of them renowned actors, who conform a superb ensemble cast. If you enjoy family dramas with a healthy dose of comic relief, Family Stone is far and away better than most films of its kind…

8* STARS...,.ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

Having seen the previews on a number of occasions I went to see this film because I was in the mood for a comedy. I guess the preview were all of the funny scenes. However, this turned out to be one of the most touching and sensitive movies I have seen in quite some time. The family stone could be almost anyones family and especially mine. The funny scenes were truly that, funny and very believable, one liners you wish you had said. The acting was first rate, I most enjoyed Diane Keaton and Craig Nelson. The movie moves along well with no dead time and while it is predicable in its storyline with no big surprises it is a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. You get your moneys worth.

SPOILERS WITHIN:

For some reason I thought this movie would be similar to The Royal Tenenbaums - a story about a lovable, charming, quirky, odd family coming into contact with an uptight professional wardrobe queen. Excellent set up, right?

But the movie starts going downhill from the very first minute, never gets better, and left me wondering why all these otherwise decent actors chose to associate themselves with such an awful, awful script.

Nothing that happens in this movie makes any sense. Now, for something to "make sense" in a movie, it doesn't have to be "realistic." You can believe a winged dragon is going to jump in and save the day at the very end as long as - and this is key here - that point is set up earlier in the script. By establishing characters' motivations and history, the audience will slowly clue into the crux moments of the script where those characters have to make decisions - based on their past experiences - that influence the outcome of the film.

There wasn't one character in this movie that had any background information established before they started making "key" decisions. Things happened, and the audience watches, uninterested, because from the very beginning of the film we aren't given any reason to care.

The Stone family hates Durmot Mulroney's fiancée, played by SJP. The audience has no idea why, because the film never sets up any organic reason for it. The characters merely EXPLAIN reasons they don't like her, which does not a movie make.

Halfway through the film we're clued into the fact that mom has cancer. If this was supposed to be a pinnacle moment, it merely further confuses the plot, as the audience is left wondering why, if someone in the family were about to die, everyone would be so trifling and petty.

Enter Claire Danes. Again, for no reason. From the moment she clumsily falls off the bus line that drags her into the Stones' life, acting as the complete opposite of her uptight sister, we see the plot "thickening" so obviously that I was tempted to fast forward through the obligatory sentimental conversations that had to follow, wherein Durmot Mulroney sees Danes' sensitive side ("I'm an art grant writer... and this totem pole touched me so deeply.")

It's almost an afterthought that he falls in love with Danes, Luke Wilson marries SJP, and the next Christmas everyone lives happily ever after except mom whose dead (but who really cares anyway).

What made this movie especially bad was the "Home Alone"-esquire music that forced joviality at moments when the Stone family was trifling, a horrible section of Christmas-gone- horribly-awry pratfalls (wherein the entire family gets covered in eggs and turkey in the kitchen, ha ha ha).

However, the hands-down worst part of this film were the shallow characters. Diane Keaton's mother was defined by coffee: she had a favorite mug and she hated it when people took the last coffee and didn't make more. Rachel McAdams (as the sister) was supposed to be a liberal college-type, but was nothing except a basketful of laundry and an NPR logo gives this away. (Otherwise she's just a petty brat.) Luke Wilson's character is utterly confusing - at first he's rather creepy (forcing his affections on SJP), then he's a pot- head with a Love and Rockets poster in his room, then he's a doting husband.

And worst of all is Durmot Mulroney, whose character development (or lack thereof) the movie centers on. What we finally begin to understand, only through horrible dialog, is that The Family Stone doesn't want Durmot Mulroney to marry SJP because he isn't being "true to himself." If this would have been at all clear in any kind of set-up to the movie, perhaps, perhaps The Family Stone could have had a bit of redemption. As it is, it did not, and therefore this movie is one of the absolute worst films of all time.

After reading some of the reviews this film appears to be like Hillary Clinton. Either you love it or you hate it. I certainly don't care for Hillary, but I did enjoy this movie. Never was a big Sarah Jessica Parker fan but thought her portrayal was top notch. Diane Keaton was good as always. Craig T Nelson also gave a good performance. Claire Danes has a somewhat minor part. Rachel McAdams is delightfully catty. Had never heard of the protagonist, Dermot Mulroney prior to watching this. Much of the plot is not especially believable but for goodness sake it's a movie. Is there no such thing in love at first sight in Hollywood? Having some dysfunctional aspects in both sides of my family made this enjoyable to watch. If you're Ward and June Cleaver you might not enjoy this film.

I can't even impart in words how truly abysmal this film is. And I had low expectations going in. I figured it would just be some goofy stupid and slightly girlier version of MEET THE PARENTS. Wholesome and stupid family fun. Everybody is happy. family values get rienforced. Like an Episode of SEVENTH HEAVEN on a Hollywood budget...just without the Jesus-loving.

No. No. What was there was so much more awful.

SPOILERS WITHIN!!! Lemme set it up for ya. So SARAH JESSICA PARKER is a self conscious high-class business executive with the social skills of an outcasted nerdy middle schooler who was kept in a closet and fed gruel. She is dating Dermut Mulroney and is going to visit his family for Christmas. BUT WAIT! DERMUT's FAMILY is the most screwd-up and liberal bunch of hippies on the planet! THE Dad (TV'S COACH!)and the son (LUKE Wilson!) totally smoke pot together, And the daughter is a serious intellectual (we know this because she has a backpack from NPR. Man, NPR backpacks= super self-righteous hippies), And One of the sons is (GET THIS!) A Deaf Gay man with a Black Partner (Oh SO Taboo! Unless you have watched 'IN THE COMPANY OF MEN' By Neil Labute or have .5 brain-cells.). HOW WILL SARAH-Jessica Deal with THE FAMILY STONE? She's so stuck up and anti social and Unlikeable! The family is far too liberal for her. they won't possibly like her.

AND SHE'S RIGHT! The entire family already decided that she is horrid and stuck up before she even walks into the door and treat her like garbage, by not making her the slightest bit welcome in their home for Christmas for no apparent reason other than the fact that they are complete Jerks! But don't worry! Luke Wilson (the stoner brother) falls in love with Sarah Jessica and treats her like the woman she should be. And Durmont Mulrony isn't even ANGRY because He just asked SARAH JESSICA'S sister CLAIRE DANES (why are you in this film?) TO marry him even though he has only known her for under 12 hours. So its okay. Nobodys mad. And wouldn't ya know it?! DIANE KEATON has breast cancer for apparent reason. And She likes to show off the huge scars on her chest where they cut off her breasts. Thats not massively disturbing or entirely uncalled for especially since they deal with Cancer in the most uninelligent way possible.

Thats not even all of it. They have a bunch of retarded Polltically Correct conversations about homosexuality that might only be controversial and not utter garbage to the religious right (who will most likely disregard it anyway). This film is insulting to Liberals, Homosexuals, People with cancer, Families, people with brains, etc. etc. Seriously I think this film joins the ranks of the TOP 10 WORST FILMS ever.

I just finished watching this film on my On Demand. I had to rewind, stop, and start the movie 3 times because I thought OnDemand was deleting scenes. THAT'S how ridiculous, unbelievable, and choppy this movie is. I really thought we lost the first half-hour or so, because SJP enters the Stone family household, and they immediately hate her. I thought, oh, well we must have missed the huge lead-in to that. NO! There was no lead-in. The family just flat-out hated the girlfriend of their son for no reason at all. Once I realized we didn't miss the first few scenes, I knew this movie would be disastrous.

It actually gets worse! The entire family is too large that by the end of it, I still couldn't figure out who was related to who (who was that 6 year old anyway????) They did not need such a large cast and I did not get to know ANY of the characters or get to like ANY of them at all, except Luke Wilson, who was sweet. (by the way, I have to call the actors by their real names and not their character's names, because I don't even think we were introduced to all of them by first name.) One of the women (I guess she was a daughter???) her husband showed up for a total of 16 seconds of the movie. The film is so degrading even though it is trying to be politically correct. They make such a huge scene around the deaf son and his black husband that it completely goes against whatever P.C. statement they were trying to make.

I can't even get into how ridiculous and utterly disturbing the 2 romances are. And I forgot about the cancer!! That came out of left field. All of a sudden the evil mother has cancer, however we're still making SJP feel like crap because that's more important. This was an extremely inappropriate look at someone suffering from cancer. Besides that, it did not add to the plot line at all, and instead complicated the story even more so than I ever thought this mess could be complicated.

This film is such a completely tangled mess of untied plot lines, undeveloped characters, and no real genre that it just leaves you feeling MAD you spent any type of money on it at all. I also feel sorry for Rachel McAdams and Luke Wilson -- I'm sure they regret their decision to act in this disaster after seeing the final product. Avoid at all costs.

Thomas Bezucha's 'The Family Stone' surprised me. I expected a catty WASPish family satire – that, at least, was the impression given in most reviews. I liked this a great deal. The discomfort felt by Sarah Jessica Parker's uptight career girl as she spends Christmas with her partner's close-knit New England liberal family is used to good effect, but as much awkwardness is felt as a result of their jibes as by her tactlessness, so she's not marked out solely as a stooge. Dermot Mulroney, Rachel McAdams (the best thing in Wes Craven's 'Red Eye'), Luke Wilson (a much better actor than brother Owen) and Diane Keaton also give fine turns, and Craig T. Nelson - another much underrated character actor – is perfectly cast Keaton's husband. It's occasionally sentimental, as certain family secrets are revealed, but never in a sickly manner, and works principally because it's that rare Hollywood beast, a genuinely well written ensemble piece. Good work Mr Bezucha. Worth a look.

I would give it a zero out of ten if I could. This movie fails as a comedy, as a drama, as everything. The characters are so cliché and hackneyed, it is unbelievable. There seem to be about twenty of them (the characters), and throughout the movie they meet, fall in and out of love, fight, whine, act ridiculous and erratic, wallow in self-pity, and are generally just irritating. Through most of the movie I was saying to myself, "who ACTS like that?" Most of the characters are so unlikeable that their behaviour makes it impossible to care at all about what happens to them.

There hardly seems to be a coherent plot, and what there is of one is a waste of time.

Of course, everything turns out super-duper okay in the end. I literally, physically rolled my eyes at the bus scene, it is so cliché. And the very ending is supposed to be bittersweet, but it is just way too predictable.

Pass this movie by if you value your time.

Watching this film was like shooting yourself in the head, having the spurting blood spell out "The Family Stone" in drippy writing, and then having to carry on living in complete agony and brain-deadness. I need to emphasise how shocked I am at the absurdly high average review rating, but I should qualify my comments with some evidence. I could probably do a minute-by-minute massacre of this film (yes, EVERY minute was worth a good napalming), but for the sake of the readers, I'll keep it brief, and in order of heinousness: 1)This film may have been sponsored by the KKK for the extent to which it manages to undermine good "liberal" qualities. The whole point of liberalism is accepting that people may have an opposing values to your own without thinking they should be hanged for holding such views. The family's unrealistically immediate hatred of Meredith and their cruel treatment of her when she has done nothing to actively offend them is totally incongruous with the pot-smoking Benetton models that formed the family. 2) Why in God's name would you want your child to be gay? Why would you actively WANT your child to be ANYTHING?? Its logically as bigoted to say that you wish for gay children as if you said you absolutely didn't want your children to be gay. You wish for happy children, regardless of their sexual orientation. 3)Sarah Jessica Parker was completely unable to break out of her Sex and the City character, which meant that when she was acting uptight, it seemed completely unbelievable. Her supposedly 'drunken' scene was some of the worst acting I've ever seen. It was like the popular girl at school being in a school play, acting drunk but not doing any of the embarrassing things (i.e. slurring, very BAD dancing) that would actually make the drunkenness realistic, for fear of looking bad. 4)Stupid formulae, which are completely condescending to the audience. e.g. At the beginning, Meredith = uptight = hair scraped back in bun...BUT at the end...Meredith = more relaxed/in love = hair loose and down 5)Horrible script trying to be like Royal Tenenbaums type of quirky but completely failing. Does any mother ever comment to a complete stranger that a certain guy has 'popped' her daughter's 'cherry' in front of said daughter? Come on. Why does laid-back Ben fall in love with Meredith - because he wants a challenge or because he dreams of 'being the snow' that Meredith shovels. Oooh how arty. Eat my shorts. 6)Meredith's sister and the fiancé are a pair of whores who think they're lives should mimic some stupid French novel where people fall in love over a schmaltzy story set in some country where people are foreign and therefore can be patronised (that would be us, viewer). And you can swoon over the fact that Meredith's sister is such a great person that she'll come to the Stone family home to comfort her completely terrorised sister - what a catch. Oh, except that she's a complete cow who takes her sister's fiancé (regardless of her three minute hesitation) and doesn't go out to see if her sister's OK when they hear her car crash in the driveway. Twice. Hmmmmm. (And her hair is far too shiny)

So disappointing...the worst film I've EVER EVER seen

I admit, I only rented this DVD because I like the Wilson brothers and one of them (Luke) is in it. I don't even remember this film being in the theaters. But I loved it! It was one of the most entertaining movies I've seen in quite awhile. Cinematically, it was nothing impressive, but the writing and the acting was quite good and the end actually made me cry (that's pretty hard to do). It is a rare movie where I can honestly say, everyone in the cast did a great job. And the screenwriters did a great job too. One problem with a lot of Hollywood films, for me at least, is the unbelievability of the characters or the one-sidedness of characters. All of the characters in this film were believable and had good and bad aspects to them. I guess if you are looking for a more fantasy-based storyline, this wouldn't be the film for you. The interactions are all very realistic and it plays out like a realistic holiday that could occur in just about any family. You won't come away from the film learning any great, deep lessons, but you will come away feeling entertained, and wishing that you could keep in touch with the characters to see where their lives take them.

Mildly entertaining, but any entertainment value is overshadowed by the absurd and insulting meanness of this movie. In a nutshell, an uncertain, anxious young woman goes with her fiancé to meet his family at Christmastime. The family is rude, snobbish and insulated in their "liberal" (read "wildly intolerant") values to the point of being sickening. They - even the very mature parents! - proceed to treat this young woman with the most appalling rudeness, showing her zero hospitality and never hesitating to insult and humiliate her to her face. The situation and the characters are artificial and embarrassing. Of course, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Claire Danes have the acting chops to pull these characters off, but the characters and the story are so hateful, who cares if the acting is good? In the end, it's all tied with with some improbable hook ups, the mom character dies of cancer - there's a sentimental pan to one-year-later so the audience can see how wonderfully it all turned out - and the moviegoer can gratefully get up an leave. (Should have left at the first hint of what this film would turn out to be....)

I totally agree with The Unemployed Critic that the trailers (and the poster) for "The Family Stone" are misleading, and ultimately an insult to the film. My husband and I are cinema addicts, but the trailers convinced us that we could live without another silly and predictable "clash of family cultures" movie. Fortunately the good-to-glowing reviews in American and Australian papers encouraged us to at least give the film a chance. We were rewarded with great writing and acting, lots of laughs and some tears. "The Family Stone" was my favourite of the many movies we saw over the Holidays -- but we almost missed out on it, due to bad Marketing.

I just watched this movie on TV… and what a total waste. It was so bad I didn't even watch the rest. I usually watch everything even though I think it's bad, but I couldn't stand this one. I saw the trailer and thought this movie must be O.K with that kind of cast… no actor/actress can save this disaster. I seriously disliked every minute of this movie. The story and characters were unbelievable, unrealistic the whole thing just made me angry. I didn't watched the whole movie, but I read about the ending, and it was just as I though it would be, it sucked. The fact the Julie ended up with Everett, and Meredith ended up with Ben is ridiculous! Julie which supposed to be this caring and supporting sister didn't even check on her sister when she stormed out crying and crashing the car twice outside of the house. Everett the boyfriend, did not go after his girlfriend, but his brother Ben did. Then Everett and Julie go outside together "looking for Meredith" (after they all finished dinner and Julie was reading some book to some kid on the couch like she been in the family for ages) which turns out to like they are on a date walking around the town, instead of actually looking for Meredith… If I wrote about all the bad things in this movie it would take me forever. I have never been so mad after watching a movie that I didn't finish watching. I just had to write my frustration somewhere, and I want to warn everybody that haven't watched this crap yet. Don't waste your time on this, you'll have more fun watching dog poo…

I was sure that I would enjoy this movie, given its stellar cast and funny trailer. I thought it would be a heartwarming movie about misunderstandings and the mutual awkwardness of meeting your in-laws.

What the trailers left out was the fact that the family hates their prospective daughter-in-law Meredith without ever giving her a chance. That they are irritating people who use their gay deaf son and his black husband to bait outsiders into saying or doing presumably bigoted things. (I'm fine with the fact that diversity is represented here, but I hate how dialogue about that diversity is squelched instead of brought out.) That despite their violent hatred toward intolerance, they are some of the most deeply prejudiced, intolerant, vicious, unsympathetic people of all. And their prideful malice is directed toward an obviously insecure woman with no real faults other than being overly concerned about making a good impression. Let's get one thing straight. Having annoying tics does not make someone a bad person. Being uptight does not make someone a bad person (think Monica on Friends).

Throughout the movie I was waiting for Meredith to get her comeuppance, like Ben Stiller's character does in Meet the Parents. It never really comes. Instead, she learns to be more like them, and they basically get away with what they want. The lesson is, gang up on people who are different than you, and they'll come around.

I truly want to know why some people have such nice things to say about this movie. None of the characters is likable or even realistic. They are rude and unfriendly to whomever they want, and cloyingly sweet and warm with each other. They judge the new girl based on appearances and social class, and make no attempt to hide it. And the women especially are cliquish, bullying, belittling, and can strip down any shred of self-worth she may feel. And the cruelest of them all is played by Rachel McAdams.

Wait a minute, this is starting to sound familiar ...

I really don't understand how people could enjoy this crappy mix of comedy and drama. It is clear that the director didn't know what he wanted this movie to be-a comedy, a drama, a family movie. Whatever his/her intent, it failed on all counts. This movie couldn't be more unrealistic. For all you people out there with families, would it be acceptable if your fiancé hooked up with your sister? Or if your fiancé hooked up with your brother? Considering the high rating for this filth, you people at IMDb consider that event to not only be normal but entertaining as well! And what was the unnecessary stuff about the breast cancer? Come on, that had nothing to do with Dylan McDermott's character wanting to marry Sarah Jessice Parker. Most surprising of all, how could all of this good talent agree to do this stupid script? Please explain it to me how they would all choose to do this ridiculous montage of so many different movies. My wife and I rarely turn off a movie before it is over, and we did with this one0mainly because of the stupid acceptable sway of fiances for siblings. If any of you out there think that this movie is in any way realistic, your families are more screwed up than the Stones. Last, the previews did not depict this movie in any way similar to what the movie actually gave us.

Ususally i am not the kind of movie goer that is into "romatic comedies" but i saw the trailer and i thought, "What the heck?", it seemed like it would be funny, well i was totally proved wrong. I did think the first half was funny, but i was really surprised and disappointed that they totally turned the ending into a far fetched situation. I hated that the siblings switched lovers, that was really stupid and i don't think it worked right at all!!! This movie could have been good but whoever thought that would be legit, are freaking crazy.I don't think i would be OK with my sister with my ex boyfriend, ever in any situation!

I thought I saw somewhere this was a comedy. It had actors and actresses I've enjoyed in other films, it's the holidays, I wanted to get some laughs and have a good time.

This is not the movie for that. Not funny, so full of outrageous stereotypes I almost thought they tried to make a satire of stereotypes. I have to admit, it's the first film I've walked on in 20 years.

All I could compare it to would be "Ordinary People" remake "It's a wonderful life", with no shame.

I hope people stay away in droves.

Happy New Year.

This movie had great actors and the potential to become a really good movie. The bottom line is "Hollywood does not have a clue to what a true American family is like, better yet they don't have a clue to what a real family is like, "period"." Homosexuals raising a baby, a mother talking about her daughter's first experience as if it was a common meal on a menu, two brothers sleeping with two sisters. I mean come on. It felt like I was watching a Jerry Springer show. Just when I tried to feel empathy for one of the characters, the movie would take a downward spin. The only positive thing that came out of the movie was that we were able to see the other side of the story for a dysfunctional family. However, once I saw what family was like through that perception, I was even more turned off. I've got an idea. How about a real Christmas movie that doesn't have a political agenda?

This movie is so awful that I decided to write this after viewing it on TV one day I was sick and awake at 1AM. I am liberal and so I didn't have any problem with the 'stoned' qualities of the family portrayed in the movie. SJP acting is really good and I disliked her character so much when I saw this movie about 6 years ago that I sided with the Stones.

But I guess I have left my adolescent mindset and it is clear now how this 'liberal' family is a horrendous set of petty minded people. I could watch only an hour this time and being sick I didn't have too much else to do so that says pretty much how much I disliked the characters.

We are supposed to be charmed by the quirks of this dysfunctional family, but the way they humiliate SJP's character -Meredith- is appalling to see. She escapes from the Stones' house and registers in a hotel after calling her sister to come for help. But in the scene when she is waiting for her boyfriend to drive her to the hotel, Luke Wilson's character shows up to give her a coffee in a mug that belongs to his mother who hates her (!!!) while doing this he is insinuating her physically and obviously hitting her, he even tells her he had a dream with her! Then Meredith's sister comes and she is immediately welcomed by the Stones, she seems to prefer them to her own sister anyway. After the sister asks a very awkward question to the gay couple and survives, Meredith feels confident to ask another awkward question failing miserably. But at this point the family is so over the top unlikable that I was on Meredith's side at this point. Meredith is humiliated again and she tries to escape again, but she collides with a tree and in that moment neither her sister or her boyfriend runs to support her. Luke Wilson's character acts as the saver and they end up having a sort of date which end with them sleeping together without sex. When Luke Wilson's goes away with Meredith her boyfriend ends up having a date with Meredith's sister who doesn't seem to care to much about her sister or about being romanced by her sister's boyfriend! There are other points of the plot that are contrived and don't make too much sense if you are non-judgmental with uptight people. Curiously this time I found Meredith the most likable (the only likable perhaps) character in the movie. With all her faults, she was only a snobby uptight girlfriend trying to fit in her boyfriend's family.

The epilogue of the movie is unbelievable and only tries to be a feel good moment. I couldn't believe that this movie got so many good reviews when it was just released, but I liked the movie then too so I guess this movie is likable when you are as judgmental as the Stones and think that that gives you a license to be a jerk with uptight people.

First I want to say, every actor in this film was fantastic. I thought they did a great job and really portrayed their characters well (which was part of the problem with the film). It was also a very well done film. It looked good and had a great atmosphere.

The problem with this film is the story. We start this story off by learning that poor Meredith (Parker) is nervous to meet Everets (Mulroney) family. Immediately we see that this won't be easy thanks to Everets sister Amy (McAdams). Soon (like 5 minutes after meeting Meredith) we see that Everets family not only dislikes her but hates her. Eventually Everet even gives into hating the women he desires to marry. Eventually Meredith is so hurt she gets a room at an Inn and calls for her sister (Danes) to join her as moral support.

Quickly we side with the nervous and misunderstood Meredith and begin to hate the Stone family (with the exception of brother Ben played by Wilson). They are mean, spiteful, and all around disgusting to Meredith making you wish the boiler would blow in the house while she is at the inn. Add to this a horrid love affair between Everet and Merediths sister and you get pretty sickened by these people. However everything ends up OK with Meredith accepted and in love with Ben while her sister hooks up with Everet.

Personally this made me sick. To think that one can so quickly dismiss what was love (everet) and then have Meredith be OK with it. Add to this that Meredith spends the entire movie apologizing for stuff others have done and they NEVER apologize to her. She gets them all teary eyed with a beautiful gift and NO one at all says they were wrong, or sorry, or she was treated unfair (Amy does sniffle something at her but that is it).

One can not just treat people like filth and then whip it clean with a good laugh on the kitchen floor. All in all this movie showed a disgusting image of relationships and how one can be a horrid person with no consequences as long as you spill food and have a good laugh over it.