THE FAMILY STONE – Diane Keaton, Claire Danes
The Family Stone (2005)
Direction and screenplay: Thomas Bezucha
Cast: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Ty Giordano, Paul Schneider
Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, Ty Giordano, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney in The Family Stone
The Family Stone is the sort of fairy tale that works in reverse. Watching the film, I was actively rooting for the uptight, sexless, anal-retentive (surely a Republican Committee member) fiancée played by Sarah Jessica Parker, who is brought into the home of the oh-so-liberal Stone family for their annual miserable little Christmas celebration. Something tells me that’s not what writer-director Thomas Bezucha had intended.
But considering how obnoxiously and hypocritically p.c. the Stones are, it’s no wonder I found Parker’s outsider, however reactionary, the only one in the bunch with whom I could actually empathize. She is mistreated by the Stones even before they get to know her — and, poor thing, to walk around as if she’s perennially constipated must be quite uncomfortable.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s performance, in fact, is the single element in The Family Stone that offers a semblance of truth. Her comic timing may come and go, but she does manage to create a passably real person out of the cardboard character found in the screenplay.
The other actors — the cast includes Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, and Rachel McAdams — either have no role to speak of, or they fall into the trap of cheesy comedy and even cheesier melodrama. Worst of all is an over-the-top dinner table scene in which Keaton angrily defends her gay son (Ty Giordano) against prissy Parker’s remarks on homosexuality. For once, I almost took the side of bigots. (Admittedly, Keaton does have one good moment when, while lying in bed, she shows husband Craig T. Nelson her post-mastectomy physique.)
Compounding matters, the film’s unfunny, undramatic moments are underlined by Michael Giacchino’s overbearing score, the likes of which makes John Williams‘ film music seem as subtle as a Mozart sonata.
Subscribe / Syndicate
Leave a Comment
Tags: Claire Danes, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Film Reviews, Gay Interest, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker, The Family Stone, Thomas Bezucha, Ty Giordano
Comments
Leave a Reply
NOTE:
All comments are moderated and may take some time before they are posted. Different views and opinions are welcome, but courtesy is imperative. Rude/crass/bigoted comments and name-calling of any sort will be immediately deleted.
Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has no contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog and no information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
