The Family Stone ***

With all that The Family Stone has going for it, you would have expected a better movie. The film isn’t bad, but it certainly doesn’t live up to its potential. Family patriarchs Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson head this exemplary cast who create the loveably dysfunctional Stone family. The film does a good job of creating the sense of a close family and manages to touch on more serious subjects without dwelling on them or becoming emotionally manipulative.

The main problem I had with this film is the initial set-up of the central couple of the story, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Everett Stone (Durmot Mulroney). There is nothing likeable about this pairing and they seem to have no joy with each other. You can see trouble and complications coming a mile away. Although, there is much more chemistry and likeability when Ben (Luke Wilson) and Julie (Claire Danes) enter the picture, the initial coupling is thrown away too easily. Despite the trite and overplayed romantic film moments – like a bus pulling away only for the lover to get off and run back – there’s still something genuine and honest in this film. Maybe it’s partially the love mixed with cruelty or the disappointment attached to great expectations, but the Family Stone manages to remain grounded as a quirky American family.

As delightful as it is to see Sarah Jessica Parker step outside of the Carrie Bradshaw shadow, it was Luke Wilson whose performance stood out above the rest. How many actors could manage a character that goes after their brother’s girlfriend without coming off as a creep and even managing to be really adorable while doing it? Not many. Mulroney’s been in a number of romantic comedies and definitely has the chops and charm for them, but he fell flat here and was decidedly smarmy. And then there’s Claire Danes. How in the world did she get top billing on this film? She managed to play herself convincingly. What ever happened to the girl who channeled Beth so amazingly in Little Women? Who knows. Racheal McAdams was good, but underutilized. Overall, this is an entertaining movie, but not anything to write home about.