The Family Stone Review
by [email protected] (dnb AT dca DOT net)December 30th, 2005
THE FAMILY STONE
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2005 David N. Butterworth
** (out of ****)
"Dysfunctional" doesn't even begin to describe "The Family Stone," a home-for-the-holidays domestic "comedy" in which bad things happen to truly dreadful people. And I'm not referring to the family at the center of this miserable misfire as non-functional, necessarily (although of course they are). I'm talking about the film in general.
As written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, "The Family Stone" is an ungodly mess, a jumble of mostly decent performances drowning under the weight of a seriously stillborn script. Bezucha lays the groundwork for a robust familial comedy in that "Meet the Parents" screwball vein and then peppers it with despicable characters. And if that decision isn't questionable enough he then asks us to sympathize with--as well as laugh loudly alongside--these undesirable types when they act mean, creepy, and/or stupid.
It's Christmas and eldest son Everett (Dermot Mulroney) is bringing his hyper uptight fiancée Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) home to meet the folks for the first time. In addition to Mom and Dad (Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson), the cozy New England retreat also lays claim to bohemian slacker son Ben (Luke Wilson), gay/deaf son Thad (Ty Giordano), kid sister Amy (Rachel McAdams), and pregnant daughter Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser), notably sans husband. Nearly all household members convey an immediate, almost inbred dislike towards Meredith, although not one has ever clapped eyes on her before.
One can only assume it's because nobody believes *any* woman to be good enough for corporate beefcake Everett. (And Everett, as it will transpire, also has his doubts.) Or it could simply be because the Stones are all, basically, jerks.
Meredith doesn't help matters any by being obnoxious and officious from the get-go, with inappropriate party patter and an unerring tendency to fly the freak flag. Her attire is simply all wrong for a New England winter visit--she dons heels instead of snow boots--and she seems way more attached to her mobile than to her beau (although Ben takes an inappropriate shine to her).
And when things start unraveling quickly and distastefully and Meredith calls in her pretty sister Julie (Claire Danes) as backup, Everett takes an inappropriate liking to *her*.
The mystery, life-threatening disease guarded by Keaton's manic matriarch can only be dementia the way she plays it up: smug, mean- spirited, and prone to emotional outbursts. Yet Sybil's clan rallies around her, supporting and contributing to her nastiness.
>From the outset it appears that Bezucha was shooting for a wacky, Capra- esque fish-out-of-water comedy that would culminate in love and redemption and warm, wooly feelings all around. Instead, he's fashioned a tiresome, prickly melodrama that grows more and more unpleasant with every passing revelation, resulting in shock, outrage, even revulsion. There's always the possibility that one could be misinterpreting some of the family Stone's motivations, but Bezucha consistently supports our worst fears, either by the off-the-wall actions of his leads, the romantic muzak on the soundtrack, or the strong sense that these are, after all, just a bunch of lovable misfits who deserve the same sappy endings as everyone else.
Not this crowd. Despite the earnest contributions of its cast, "The Family Stone" remains what it tries so hard to avoid: a graceless and tasteless freak show.
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David N. Butterworth
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