25 Days of Christmas Movies: The Family Stone

I hadn’t seen this movie since it was released and I was really young back then so a lot of the movie kind of went over my head… but I remembered it being sad and kind of uncomfortable. I much preferred watching it this time around!

So I don’t really like Meredith- Sarah Jessica Parker’s character and I could understand that she felt out of place in this family and alone on Christmas… but at the same time I don’t think she did a great job making an effort to fit in or be nice to these people. And the family is honestly really nice and the mom is lovely to her… and I think I would have kicked this woman out of my house if I were the parents… she said something incredibly rude and homophobic to their Gay and Deaf son Theo… It seemed like she was trying to make conversation but what she said was just plain wrong and she did not deserve any apologies for it.

I did really love The Stone Family. The cast is amazing and each of the characters is unique and very well developed. So the parents are played by Craig T Nelson and Diane Keaton and they have 3 sons and 2 daughters. The oldest daughter is Susannah who is married and expecting her second child. Everett is Meredith’s boyfriend and i think he said he’s running for office- and he asked his mom for her family’s engagement ring so that he can settle down with Meredith. Luke Wilson plays Ben- who’s the stoner looking for a good time… but he’s also the only one that’s kind to Meredith and the family seems to really love him. Thad is the youngest son, and he is gay and deaf and has a partner with him. The youngest is Amy who is played by Rachel McAdams and comes in with an NPR tote bag and all of her Laundry.

The main conflict of this movie is that Meredith doesn’t really fit in with Everett’s family- and she gets along with his brother Ben and it seems like they have feelings together and she’s able to let loose a little bit with Ben. Meredith also invites her sister Julie- played by Clare Danes- and she ends up kind of having a flirtation with Everett who is instantly smitten with her. I saw someone mention recently that she doesn’t think these couples actually stay together… and I agree. I don’t dislike this movie at all- but i didn’t like it because of the couples… I really liked the Stone family.

I also loved the outfits and set design in this movie… there was so much detail in the smallest parts of this movie. I just really liked the coziness of the house. The fashion also told us a lot about the characters and I thought everyone looked beautiful in this movie… especially Diane Keaton- she looked really great in this. And all these little details that brought this movie to life were done without AI! So… that’s a win in my book!

I will definitely watch this movie again in the future. My boyfriend actually bought me the DVD of it so i’m glad i own that now!

Bye!

-Shannon!