Meeting the parents has been a regular staple of most mainstream comedy since, um, Meet The Parents. This year we've had Guess Who, Monster-In-Law and even Wedding Crashers all riffing on the idea. This month, first time writer-director Thomas Bezucha manages to pit the awkward situation at its perfect setting: Christmas.

Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) is being brought home for the first time by Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) for the festive season. Meredith's uptight and traditional attitude is an immediate clash for the liberal Stone family. They include the matriarch with a secret (Diane Keaton), the bitchy sister (Rachel McAdams) and the stoner brother (Luke Wilson). As Meredith struggles to impress, the Stone family slowly gang up on her and she calls her sister (Claire Danes) for last minute help. Yet her arrival causes more trouble than she could have expected.

The Family Stone takes on the traditional arc of the dysfunctional family and fills it to the brim with every possible character type, designed to appeal to every demographic. This is most apparent with the gay son who's also deaf - and he has a black boyfriend as well. Tick, tick, tick. As with most films of this type there's also some terminal illness on the prowl which arrives in the most predictable manner of all. The terminal illness storyline is forced and derivative. Also featured are some of those moments where characters see someone else for the first time and immediately fall in love with them. Convenient for the writer - their relationship therefore requires less development.

But despite these problems, The Family Stone proves to be likeable entertainment. The film cleverly pitches Meredith's character against the family Stone and also refuses to make one party either good or bad. There are some frosty moments from Meredith, yet also some unnecessary nastiness from the family at large. It's in the setup that the film is at it's best. There is some palpable embarrassment as both parties try in vain to make a good impression. As it all progresses, interest wanders slightly, but never completely dissipates.

A film such as this requires a fantastic cast and luckily that's where the film ticks most boxes. Sarah Jessica Parker takes on her first major film role and delivers a surprising performance. She manages brilliantly to pull off a completely different character than her Sex and the City alter ego as the cold and not always likeable Meredith. Diane Keaton continues to have an illustrious late 50s career and delivers a conventional but successful role. Rachel McAdams tops off a star-making year with another great performance while Dermot Mulroney and Claire Danes are a little bland to really register. Their scenes are where the film sags slightly.

Due to its large cast it doesn't always manage to develop all of the various family relationships fully, but The Family Stone contains enough entertaining moments for it not to really matter. It doesn't have as much depth as other dysfunctional family dramas, but this is primarily a crowd-pleasing comedy, albeit with dramatic undertones in the latter stages. Most importantly, it will definitely get you in the mood for Christmas.

  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites