Friday, June 09, 2006

The Family Stone


We saw this Tuesday night. The DVD box blurbs said:

"Corporate executive Meredith Morton (Sarah Jesica Parker) is as uptight and ultra-conservative as her pin-striped designer suit. Her boyfriend Everett Stone's (Dermot Mulroney) family is as relaxed and quirky as their aging new England Colonial. So when Meredith ventures out of Manhattan to meet Everett's clan, it's no wonder her arrival is met with all the enthusiasm of a nasty Nor'easter."

The movie is described as a deliriously funny comedy that "balances heart and humor" with a "sharp comic edge!"

I don't know that I would call it deliriously funny, but it is amusing and the people and situations they find themselves in run the gamut from pathos to joy. I am sorry to report that the plot is a little predictable. Mr. kenju and I could see the eventual outcome as soon as the people were introduced into the movie. That fact didn't ruin it for us, however, as we stayed the course. I am sort of glad I didn't pay full price to see it in the theater, but a rental on a night when you have nothing better to do? Fine and dandy.
Note: the rest of the cast: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Craig T. Nelson and Luke Wilson.



17 comments:

utenzi said...

Michele sent me, lovely Judy.

No worries regarding my blog, Judy. You just need to visit me (please!), not any of those links.

I've been rather curious about this movie ever since seeing a review of it by Ebert and Roeper. That does sound like quite a cast but it seems from what you say like they're somewhat wasted in this movie. That's too bad but it does sound like it's worth renting, at least.

Anonymous said...

I was curious about this movie, so glad to get someone elses impression of it. I'll add it to my netflix.
I just saw 'Failure To Launch' at a dollar theater and although it was cute, it was also predictable and I'm glad I only spent a buck. With movie going costing over 20 bucks these days, we are very picky about what we go see in the theater!

OldHorsetailSnake said...

No way! You mean they lived happily ever after? Gee, what a new plot line....

Raggedy said...

I came over from Jamie's place. I enjoyed my visit. I liked your Alphabet J, I got the letter C.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Alphabet Soup
It was fun!

Have a wonderful day!

Panthergirl said...

Ah, I've discounted this one as a "chick flick", and I am SO not a chick flick person. Hence my recent review of "Murderball"!! ;)

Here via michele today!

Anonymous said...

hey Judy.
Thanks for the movie review. I love Diane Keaton but it is one I haven't seen.

Michele sent me.

~K!

Daisy said...

I saw this movie on my way to Hawaii. I, too, am glad I did not pay to go see it. It was ok to pass the time in the airplane but the actors' and actresses' talents were definitely wasted in this film. I would give it a thumbs down.

Anonymous said...

3rd attempt at trying to post comment. This time, I'll just say I totally agree with you, Kenju!

WordWhiz said...

Thanks for the movie tip. I recently rented "Wedding Crashers" and, despite many opinions to the contrary, I didn't find it that amusing at all!! It was not at all what I expected. I suspect my taste in movies is a bit different from that of my far younger co-workers. I should make a mental note to ignore their advice!

Jamie Dawn said...

My mom and Courtney saw this when it was in theaters.
They didn't really care for it, so I never have made any attempt to see it. They also saw a movie called Rumor Has It that they didn't like very much either.

Jamie Dawn said...

I just got my hair cut and highlighted. I was thinking that you trying to strengthen your nails is like me trying to put products on my hair to make it thicker and have more body. There's only so much we can do about what we are stuck with. Darn it!!

verniciousknids said...

Michele sent me to say "Konnichi wa". I haven't seen this movie, I'm not sure it's actually played in the theatres in Tokyo yet?! I like SJP...but I doubt I'll shell out 2000 yen to see it!

Anonymous said...

Judy, if you don't mind.. here's another good review of it, plus a few other movies to boot:

http://truthsandhalftruths.typepad.com/truths_and_half_truths/2006/06/three_movies.html

Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

I wish I had bought this one instead of 'I Heart Huckabees.' Yours looked good to me then, and now that you've recommended it, I know for sure that I will like it.

(Huckabees was awful.)

Michelle Pessoa said...

Not my cup of tea, but maybe I'll give it a try.

Via Michele's.

edina monsoon said...

I watched this about a month back. Predictable but I enjoyed it. Nice to see SJP acting out of context of sex and the city. I cried at the end. The last scene with the christmas tree.

Peter said...

Hi Judy, I seem to have been neglectful of late just back tracked and found a few posts I had missed, I liked the movie The Family Stone, perhaps because I really like Diane Keaton and I don't like Sarah Jesica Parker, that I enjoyed the plot??