There’s no place like home for the holidays … unless its the home of your boyfriend’s overbearing family.
Such is Christmas for Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) in the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” Thomas Bezucha’s “The Family Stone,” a winter dramedy with a perfect balance between the two genres. It’s enjoyable to watch at any time of the year, but it has a particularly warm and loving embrace around the holiday season. With a fantastic ensemble and pitch-perfect writing, this movie has been a favorite of mine ever since it hit theaters five years ago today. (And yes, I was there to see it on its first showtime that day.)
It’s always tough meeting the potential in-laws, and the uptight Meredith doesn’t leave the best first impression as she tries to simultaneously be herself and be charming. The odds are against stacked against the potential new addition to the Stone family as Amy (Rachel McAdams) has it in for her after a dinner in New York didn’t exactly endear her to the incessantly blabbering throat-clearer Meredith. The tension is only heightened by matriarch Sybill (Diane Keaton), determined not to give her mother’s wedding ring to Everett (Dermot Mulroney) for him to put on Meredith’s finger.
Yet not everyone is determined to see her demise: the fun-loving prodigal son Ben (Luke Wilson) does his best to bring out the welcome wagon, and the ever-reasonable father Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) is determined to give her a chance. But after a day, Meredith mixes with the Stone family like oil mixes with water, and things go haywire as the holiday spirit combines with mean spirits. The result is a hilariously potent comedy about the importance of family, both the ones we are born into and the ones we create.
I’d be remiss, though, if I didn’t mention the heavier side of the movie. Much of what happens in “The Family Stone” is due to an unpleasant truth about the future of a member of the Stone family, and it had been quietly kept secret until Meredith arrives. The movie is not only a comedy but also a deeply touching and heartfelt look at our families and how much we value each member of them. Around the holidays, there’s simply nothing better than a movie that can make you laugh and cry with the people you love the most.
