“The Family Stone” (2005) piles strong actors onto the screen and allows them to interact in an overstuffed house at Christmastime. This metaphorical snowball fight of personalities is a little predictable and a little heartfelt, and I liked it.
With Craig T. Nelson as the patriarch, Kelly Stone, it’s a proto-“Parenthood.” Diane Keaton, in a role with extra poignance given her passing in 2025, is a warm yet prickly presence as matriarch Sybil.
Despite an elite cast that also includes Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, Elizabeth Reaser and Rachel McAdams, this is Sarah Jessica Parker’s movie. The “Sex and the City” star plays Meredith, who I found sympathetic, but I’ve heard others call her unlikable. Both viewpoints are valid, and I think writer-director Thomas Bezucha crafts it this way for the sake of discussion.
“The Family Stone” (2005)
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Writer: Thomas Bezucha
Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes
A time for family … and one who doesn’t fit in
Everett (Mulroney), one of the four adult Stone children, brings new (but old-fashioned) girlfriend Meredith home for the holidays. It goes against the cliché when she balks at sharing a room with her boyfriend, and this upsets the sleeping arrangements, pushing McAdams’ Amy to the couch.
The uncomfortableness reaches a crescendo when Meredith gets philosophical about the challenges of having a gay child at a dinner table that includes couple Thad (Tyrone Giordano) and Patrick (Brian White). Meredith doesn’t phrase it right, and alienates Kelly and Sybil.
A psychiatrist might diagnose Meredith with neurodivergence. She’s a workaholic and talks too much and is obsessed with people liking her, and – in a bar scene with Wilson’s laid-back Ben (a stoner, pun probably not intended) – she’s unable to relax until she’s had a tabletop’s worth of cold ones. But her inner decency is apparent, so I temporarily disliked the Stones for making her feel unwelcome.
However, they aren’t necessarily shunning someone simply for being off track with their rhythm, which includes robust sign language when deaf Thad is present – a sweet shortcut for showing the Stones’ bond. Sybil senses Meredith is not a good match for Everett. “The Family Stone” ultimately won me over with human realness and amusing moments that scrape the edge of funnier holiday classics.
I could clearly see the new relationships form, and Meredith’s internal issues are smoothed over like fresh snow dusting the dirty slush. But I’m not enough of a Scrooge that the family’s desire for holiday cheer didn’t affect me. Besides, compiling a cast this good is nearly as impressive as a large family getting everyone’s schedules to line up.