Good movie but grossly overrated

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The acting in this movie is really good.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Here it is, 2017, and I am writing a review of a movie released in 2006. Perhaps it is because I lived for 20 years in the Boston area, so many of the nuances ring true (Bedford is, after all, considered a high-end suburb) but I just love this movie. I must have watched it over 20 times and it never fails to delight. I guess you can call it my personal ground hog day. Let me count the ways I love this movie - 1) Not a note rings false - ensemble casting at it's best. And the actors seem to know it - they appear to be enjoying themselves. 2) Incredible talent across the board. 3) Watching the Meredith character shed her false rigidity to even the point of believing herself a full-fledged skank, while whining about it all of the time, is one of the funniest portrayals I've ever seen. You can see why John F. Kennedy, the man who could have practically any woman, chose Sarah Jessica Parker for a relatively serious fling. She is an intelligent, sweet hoot. That is all there is to it. 4) The rest of the performances are equally fabulous. That area of Massachusetts (the way Western part), is rather unique. You would have to grow up there, like I did, to really appreciate it I guess. The campus depicted there is where I saw Gwynneth Paltrow perform Shakespeare live on stage on the cusp of becoming famous, and where the front desk told me that Paul Newman was in the B&B. An intellectual Hollywood East of a sort. Not one detail of the movie rang false, from the Volvo to the bags of food from Whole Foods. Thank you for this fabulous gift that keeps giving - the quirky ensemble movie serving up a large helping of both laughs and pathos. I will enjoy it for years to come. For those who don't get it and can't see past the skank factor, this movie is about a loving family in crisis, in particular, in denial that they are about to lose their matriarch to cancer. The "good" son is unconsciously using magical thinking, trying to be super-good by wearing the tie, the suit, and bringing home the conservative (he thinks) fiancé. The irony is that the fiancé herself is a bit of a "freak" (non-conformist) and that she herself discovers this at the same time that the family comes to terms with the imminent loss of their beloved mother. A psychologically astute, funny and moving film.

***** This Review May Contain MINOR Spoilers! ***** The Previews of The Family Stone seemed to hold out the promise of a genuinely light and thoroughly amusing comedy, perhaps a bit over-the-top, but focused on the cultural differences between a very liberal family, (giving the impression that the parents were, perhaps, "Hippies" back in the 60's) and a super-conservative and tightly wound woman, engaged to one of their sons.The problem is that the film showcased in the theatrical trailer plus the marketing campaign launched to promote it, vs. the actual movie you see in the theater have absolutely nothing in common! Unfortunately, previews sole raison d'etre apparently is to get people into the theater. It doesn't seem to matter in the least to these people if the expectation generated by the short is totally out of sync with the experience given by the film.Thusly, it is easy to understand the plethora of reviewers who were livid with these bait and switch tactics! At its core, Family Stone is much more of a serious film that attempts to underscore the importance of cohesive family life, and how family unity can overcome obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, such as sharing and then getting over the pain of the loss of one of their own.The cast is remarkable. Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Craig T. Nelson. Almost all of them renowned actors, who conform a superb ensemble cast. If you enjoy family dramas with a healthy dose of comic relief, Family Stone is far and away better than most films of its kind… 8*STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

Was looking for a Christmas themed movie to watch on Netflix, the cast and overall score looked good, so went for this. What a train-wreck it was! I don't know where to start, because it failed on every level.I'm assuming it tries to be a comedic drama that has a bit of craziness to it. The problem is that it's neither funny nor a good drama. The script is just insane, and not in a good way. I don't know if a different director would've gotten a decent movie out of it, but nothing really works in this effort. Everything is unnatural and cringe-worthy. The characters are annoyingly clichéd like any Christmas family movie - and it's OK for a Christmas movie, but here they have zero chemistry nor are they at all likable.The movie is like a badly tuned piano, it just sounds wrong and hurts all senses. It may look good on the outside, but in the inside it really is not.I can't remember when I last saw so badly developed character as Dermot Mulroneys, who I assume is kind of the main character here. You have absolutely no clue what the guy is about. He's just creepy at times.Bad bad bad.

In this movie, Dermot Mulroney brings his girlfriend home to be humiliated by his family. The family is unfathomably cruel to her for no apparent reason. Dermot Mulroney does not defend her, and in fact seems to quite obviously hate her. Their relationship appears to be some sort of vicious joke at her expense, as he seems openly contemptuous of her. (Then again, Dermot Mulroney always appears to be openly contemptuous of his romantic leads.) She calls her sister for moral support, and the sister of course takes the side of the horrible family and falls in love with Dermot Mulroney. There is a point when the family has driven her from the house in tears, and they hear her crash a car into a tree, not once, but twice. They continue eating, rather than check to see if their guest has died on their lawn (except for Luke Wilson, the only member of the family to show a modicum of human decency to the character, because wants to sleep with her). This film seems less like a movie and more like a very upsetting stress dream. Happily, Dermot Mulroney's awful mother dies. Sadly, everyone else lives.