VickiDK

Worst acting Worst directing Worst editing Worst *everything*

I watched because it starred (supporting role) Rebecca DeMorney (sp?). But I was really taken back by her AWFUL acting as well as the awful acting of every other actor in the movie. I was so embarrassed for her performance and wondered why she agreed to play this tacky, tacky part.

Had her acting career started with the caliber of this example, she would never have even met Tom Cruise. (Yes! THAT bad.)

I knew within 10 minutes that this movie was bad. We stopped watching, but I have a hard time leaving a movie unfinished and went back to see the rest of it. HOPING it might improve.

It didn't. Not . one . bit.

I'm so sorry to have to post negative comments about this movie, which stars two of my favorite actors, Meg Ryan and William H. Macy. From their other works, I can say without question that the reason this movie was so bad had nothing to do with their raw acting ability.

To be honest, I'm not sure where to place the blame for this stinker, but OTHER than raw acting ability, there is plenty of blame to go around, but the bulk of the blame goes to the director of this flick.

I had never heard of this movie when invited to a friend's house to watch it on DVD. I thought I was in for a treat, but from the first frame to the last, the movie made absolutely no sense. I couldn't understand the story line, the character's motivation or even why the leading characters were attracted to each other. Editing was extremely choppy and character dialogue was too rapid to to listen to with any understanding and too hard to follow even when you knew what was being said. Many times it was difficult to hear even over the chatter of other characters.

As to makeup, I'd never seen Meg Ryan look so awful. Her eyes were dead, her hair looked like blonde straw and her lips were overdone. This was supposed to establish her character, but it was so badly done that it even distracted me from watching or understanding her character. Of course, she was supposed to be a powerful movie producer (I guess - I could never figure that out either.) The whole movie was just so bad, that it tortures me even now just trying to figure out what the main story line was even supposed to be.

I love William H. Macy. To see the work of a masterful actor, watch his performance in a made-for-TV movie, "Door to Door." His acting wasn't bad in The Deal, but his character just made no sense to me.

If you decide to see this movie, I sincerely hope you enjoy it more than I did.

In previews, The Family Stone promised to be lighthearted and entertaining without being too slapstick or too sappy - and that appealed to me. But as I watched I found myself being disheartened again by Hollywood moguls using my money to promote homosexual lifestyles. Without warning, the movie pretended that homosexuality is a normal and acceptable lifestyle. Moreover, the movie promotes that it is acceptable for homosexual couples to adopt children. Since there was no hint of this in movie previews, I must categorize this film as another Hollywood propaganda piece - and the underlying motivation for presenting it to the American public.

This as well as a few other lame plot developments - such as Sarah Jessica Parker getting snockered to lose her inhibitions - left the movie seriously wanting.

There were some good scenes. Though the issue at the dinner table was "Why would anyone wish their child to turn out homosexual, given all the hardships they would endure?", the scene was realistically acted out.

Because I paid money to see a non-controversial and light-hearted film, I feel cheated. The only reason I gave the movie a 3 is because of the excellent acting from Diane Keaton.