Review of The Family Stone (2005) by Kate M — 03 Feb 2009

What a shocking film this was! Absolutely horrific. I should have turned off the moment they introduced the deaf gay paired with the black gay! it was so desperately trying to be thought provoking, original, endearing, funny and it was just HORRIBLE.

Every character was cliched, boring and throughly annoying (even poor Rachel McAdams, who I didn't even realise was in this until she popped up). Sarah Jessica Parker's character WAS annoying. I don't care if she was being ostrachised by the family - GOOD. None of the characters got any sympathy from me, they were all unlikeable. Clare Danes was also a waste in this! Her character seemed solely to serve as a plot device, thinly veiled as, somehow, a cutsey falling in love at first sight story which was blatant, unbelievable, cringeworthy nonsense! All the male characters were unappealing as well - I didn't care who ended up with who, hell, resort to incest for all I care.

Its message and focus was muddled throughout, and the script a hotpotch of other, BETTER films. There is a horrible scene/sequence in the middle of the film that actually made me walk out of the room to vent my anger, it was that bad.

Go and watch Junebug instead. This was utter tripe.