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“The
Family Stone”
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Reviewer:
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Wayne
A. Klein
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Studio: |
20th Century Fox
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| Genre: |
Comedy |
Release:
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5/2//06 |
| Special
Features: |
Two commentary tracks, six deleted
scenes, “Casting Session”, “World Premiere” and “Behind the
Scenes” featurettes; Questions and Answers at the Screen Actor’s
Guild, gag reel and the Morton Strata Family Recipe |
| Review:
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Combining a variety of genres but not necessarily doing
well at all of them “The Family Stone” works partially due
to the charm of an appealing cast and witty one-liners.
Aiming at far too many targets “The Family Stone” doesn’t
hit any of them dead on. Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker)
goes home for the holidays with her boyfriend Everett (Dermot
Mulroney). Unfortunately Everett’s family (Craig T. Nelson
as dad, Diane Ke aton as mom, Tyrone Giordano as gay Thad,
Elizabeth Reaser as sister Elizabeth and Rachel McAdams
as the nasty Amy) immediately pegs Meredith as too uptight
to fit into their family. Enter Meredith’s warm free spirited
sister Julie to thaw the hearts and perhaps break through
the façade of the Stones. Things spiral out of control from
there. Although it’s not a perfect film I applaud director
Thomas Bezucha for trying to combine disparate elements
into a cohesive whole. While the film falls becomes unbelievable
by the end and has a predictable conclusion “The Family
Stone” has enough going for it to make it an enjoyable rental
particularly for those who have walked into this situation
themselves.
Image & Sound: “The Family Stone” looks marvelous in
this widescreen presentation. I should note that the film
is available in both a widescreen and full screen edition
so those who don’t want to watch it letterboxed have a choice
as to which format they’d like to see. The audio sounds
routine but that’s more to do with the nature of the film
than the mix itself. ---
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| Special
Features: |
We get two commentary tracks
each with different people. The first features actors Mulroney
& Parker while director Bezucha, producer Michael London,
editor Jeffrey Ford and production designer Jan Ann Stewart
provide a play-by-play on all three conditions of the film
from pre-production through post-production. Both commentary
tracks are fun to listen to although the Mulroney & Parker
commentary track is the funnier of the two. We also get six
deleted scenes with optional commentary from Bezucha and Ford
as well as two featurettes on casting the film and the world
premiere. The latter aired on the Fox Movie Channel and is
recycled without any noticeable differences. We also get a
standard behind-the-scenes featurette, an interesting question
and answer interview from a Screen Actor’s Guild session,
the luminous gag reel and the Morton Family Strata Recipe
that Meredith introduces the family to. --- |
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Final Words:
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A funny if uneven comedy/drama
(also known as a “dramedy” in some circles), “The Family Stone”
may not live up to its potential but with ambitions and material
this rich that’s understandable. A terrific cast keeps the
film afloat even when it threatens to sink under the weight
of coincidences and events that become more and more unbelievable.
“The Family Stone” isn’t perfect but then what family is?
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