Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, and Luke Wilson star in "The Family Stone," a 2005 holiday movie. Parker plays Meredith, the uptight girlfriend of Everett Stone (Mulroney) who accompanies him home for Christmas. She doesn't fit in with his family which consists of his tell-it-like-it-is mother (Keaton), his deaf gay brother Thad and his lover (Ty Giordano and Brian White), his brat sister who already doesn't like Meredith (Rachel McAdams), his fun brother (Wilson), his pregnant sister (Elizabeth Reaser) and her young daughter waiting for her husband to arrive, and his quiet, accepting father (Nelson).
Meredith gets off on the wrong foot when she feels uncomfortable sharing a room with Everett and displaces Amy from her room. It goes from there, including a game of charades in which Meredith attempts to act out "The Bride Wore Black" and is accused by Amy of pointing to Thad's black lover. In desperation, Meredith moves to a local inn and calls her sister (Clare Danes) to join her for moral support.
This is a sentimental, sometimes funny, predictable film with some good performances. It's a little overdone with the stereotypes -- it could have been effective without hitting us over the head. Diane Keaton is wonderful as a free-spirited mother who worries about Everett's choice of girlfriend and fearful that he's going to marry her. Craig T. Nelson is sympathetic as her husband, trying to keep it all together. Owen Wilson gives a funny performance as the laid-back brother, and Sarah Jessica Parker is appropriately an uptight wreck as Meredith. Dermot Mulroney vacillates between being tense and angry throughout as he deals with his family and Meredith. As the confused, pretty sister, Clare Danes doesn't have much to do but what she does is very good.
Get ready to shed a few tears if you get into this film, which you might not. It's not for everyone, just us saps.
Nevertheless, it's a lovely holiday film that emphasizes the importance of family, of finding out who you are, and of taking a risk.
