The Family Stone

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2:19

The Family Stone

PG-13

Released Dec 16, 2005

1h 44m

Holiday

Romance

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

52%

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159 Reviews

63%

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250,000+ Ratings

Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) wants to bring his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), to meet his bohemian Connecticut family at Christmas. Straitlaced Meredith, feeling she needs backup, asks her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to come along. Hoping to win the approval of her boyfriend's parents Sybil (Diane Keaton) and Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) and the rest of the family, instead Meredith succeeds only in highlighting her uptight personality and making Everett doubt his intentions.

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Critics Consensus

This family holiday dramedy features fine performances but awkward shifts of tone.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The Family Stone works hard to warm the cockles of our hearts. The cast is attractive. The sentiments are commendable. But the love Bezucha wants us to feel for the family couldn't possibly compete with the love they already feel for themselves.

Jul 7, 2010

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Apr 1, 2006

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Andrew Sarris

Observer

I can't deny the incidental pleasures of watching these talented players giving it their all, even in such a misguided project.

Jan 5, 2006

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Rachel Wagner

Hallmarkies Podcast

I just can't stand this group and the ending is unbelievable

Jul 26, 2023

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Matt Wilstein

The Daily Beast

By the end of the film...I always find myself tearing up.

Dec 5, 2022

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Michael Cuby

them.

The Family Stone flips the script by having Thad be loved and supported by all his siblings and both his parents. Nothing can compete with Diane Lane, as Thad’s mom...

Sep 26, 2022

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Kensi B

Some good and bad here. It presented a family with all their weird quirks and awkwardness—something you don't see in the age of Hallmark movie perfectionism anymore—but at the same time the family was often so disagreeable, I kept wishing for the Christmas tree to catch fire and burn them all out. There were a few outdated tropes here that are SO outdated I thought this was a movie from the 80s. One, the Meredith character is reviled because she has a high powered job and talks too much. Yep, that is the sum total of these terrible, awful faults that make the family instantly despise her and beg their son/brother not to marry her. It's okay folks, once she gets drunk and lets down her hair (literally) and hooks up with the family addict, then everything is okay! Second, we actually get the "I was drunk and passed out and think we 'slept together'" trope... I mean... that was bad even back in the 80s. Then we have the son who hits on his fiancee's sister the second she appears - but he is apparently the "perfect" son... I mean??? However, somehow, despite all of this, it had a lot of entertaining moments, and actually made me tear up at the end.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/21/24

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Clive E

Good cast but I didn’t like it. It just all felt a bit mean spirited, instead of the heart tugging tragi comedy I presume it was meant to be

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/19/24

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Lucas A

A stellar cast, but wow is this movie is insanely awkward. Not even in an enjoyable way. It’s so cringey throughout. The cast and setting help make this a decent film. Maybe not for yearly viewing, but it’s a fine holiday film to watch every few years.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

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Brenda

Love this ensemble cast. A true family holiday 😀😄😂

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

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Gayle R

wow this is bad! Amazon Prime had 4 1/2 stars, I now know Never to pay attention to their rating system. Thrown together XMas family movie with guess what? It snows at the end. Couldn’t be more cliched and superficial and obnoxious!, should have turned it off after the first 10 minutes

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/07/24

Full Review

Thomas R

It genuinely terrifies me that people have watched this movie and think its tolerable. Like how is anything about this dysfunctional, deeply hateable family heartwarming or relatable? Literally 0 redeeming qualities. I'd like to thank the writer and director for ruining Christmas.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

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Thomas Bezucha

Director

Dermot Mulroney

Everett Stone

Sarah Jessica Parker

Meredith Morton

Diane Keaton

Sybil Stone

Luke Wilson

Ben Stone

Claire Danes

Julie Morton

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The Family Stone: Trailer 1

2:19

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Synopsis

Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) wants to bring his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), to meet his bohemian Connecticut family at Christmas. Straitlaced Meredith, feeling she needs backup, asks her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to come along. Hoping to win the approval of her boyfriend's parents Sybil (Diane Keaton) and Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) and the rest of the family, instead Meredith succeeds only in highlighting her uptight personality and making Everett doubt his intentions.

Director: Thomas Bezucha
Producer: Michael London
Screenwriter: Thomas Bezucha
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Michael London Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content|Drug References)
Genre: Holiday, Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $60.1M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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