The Family Stone

This is seriously one of my all time favorite movies. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. It plays on FX quite a number of times during the Christmas season, so if you haven't seen it yet, watch it! I've already watched it twice this Christmas.

First we have an all star cast: Everett (Dermott Mulroney, The Wedding Date), Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City), Sybil (Diane Keaton, tons of stuff) Kelley (the patriarch on the amazing tv show Parenthood), Suzanne (Elizabeth Reaser, Twilight), Amy (Rachel McAdams,  lots of stuff as well), Julie(Claire Danes, super famous) and Ben (Owen Wilson, famous for having a more famous brother) Also there are two other members of this crazy family that I don't know who they are really, Thaddeus and his partner Patrick.

Everett and Meredith are a couple from the Big City, who are both city slickers with their designers suits and coats and perfect hair.  Everett takes Meredith home for Christmas to meet the family in a picturesque little town in upstate NY. Through the gossip mill, the family already is a little wary of Meredith. Well the rumors were true and Meredith lives up to being the the uptight, snooty person they are all thinking she will be. Throughout the course of her visit, she is constantly putting her foot in her mouth and doing the wrong things, but that could all just be nerves right? Needless to say the whole family doesn't really get why she and Everett are together, as Everett used to be a dreamer and want to travel the world, but is now a corporate Suit.

When Ben (Everett's big brother) meets Meredith for the first time, time kind of freezes for a second and even though nobody else in the family gets her, Ben does. He's constantly making her a little uncomfortable, trying to break this shell of perfection that she has built up.

After feeling uncomfortable about sharing a room with Everett in his parent's house, Meredith ends up taking Amy's (Everett's little sister) room, forcing her to sleep on the couch. This does not make the already unimpressed Amy happy. She sets out on a mission to make things awkward and uncomfortable for Meredith, even more so than they already are. The parents Sybil and Kelley are not too sure about her either, and are worried for their son.  Everett wants Sybil to give him her mother's engagement ring, as he was promised many many years ago, but due to her dislike of Meredith she refuses.

So after an awkward first day, feeling bullied and unwelcome, Meredith decides to get a room at the local inn as well as call her sister Julie to come and spend Christmas with her at the Stones' house. (Their last name is Stone! The title has a double meaning!) When Everett and Thad pick up Julie from the bus station, time freezes again for an instant.  Julie seems to fit right into the family and everyone seems to like her. This family is a very open, loving and relaxed family. Julie fits in much better than the uptight Meredith, who happens to notice this fact.

After a super awkward game of charades in which Amy portrays Meredith as a racist everyone sits down for dinner. Then another huge mess occurs. After Julie is successful in asking a personal question about Thad and Patrick adopting a baby, Meredith decides to give it a go as well and fails miserably as she comes across as an insensitive bigot. Needless to say the family is not happy yet again, but kind of feel bad for Meredith instead of just hating her. This sends Meredith and Ben off to a bar, where they disappear for the rest of the night. Everett and Julie go out looking for the duo and end up just walking around town for hours talking and discovering that they have a deep connection. Oh snap!

Ben finally Meredith to let loose, and literally let her hair down. (Symbolism btw! The entire movie her hair is in a tight bun/ponytail until the time when she is completely vulnerable and lets her imperfections show). They get super drunk at the bar, Meredith does some dancing, and they run into one of Amy's old flames. Then they fall asleep in the car.

As Christmas Eve comes to an end we see Patrick and Thad taking a leisurely stroll throughout the snow, Suzanne the oldest daughter watching Meet Me in St. Louis (another favorite of mine) and Sybil and Kelley share an intimate moment in which we realize that Sybil has breast cancer and is doing badly.


It's Christmas Day and we next see Meredith waking up in Ben's bedroom, uh oh! She is super confused and after Kelley walks in and sees her in the bed she is now mortified. Downstairs in the kitchen Sybil gives Everett the ring and pleads with him to not marry Meredith just to please her or think that it will some how heal her. This really shakes Everett and he kind of relinquishes this perfect person he has tried to be. Julie comes in, and he wants to see how the ring will look on her finger, which it then gets stuck. She's freaking out and everybody else comes and see's the craziness going on, which allows Meredith to sneak downstairs. She finds out about the ring and assumes that Everett was planning on proposing. She also thinks that she slept with Ben. During present opening time, Meredith does a great a job and gives everyone a framed picture of Sybil pregnant. This really touches everyone as they are starting to realize the truth about their mom.

Then Meredith and Everett have a blow out in front of everyone in which she declares that she won't marry him, he said he wasn't planning on asking her, and she says that she slept with Ben. Ben denies this and tries to explain but Everett is already chasing him through the house. The house ends up in total disarray. But finally all the truths are revealed and everyone can finally breathe a little easier.

Julie finally gets the ring off and leaves, Everett chases after her and expresses himself and they make plans for New Years. Meredith and Ben snuggle up and sing Christmas carols.

Fast forward one year ahead. Sybil has passed away but everyone else has gathered around. Also everyone is coupled up. Meredith and Ben, Everett and Julie, Suzanne and her husband (who just had another baby), Thad and Patrick with their newly adopted baby, and finally Amy who reunited with her old flame Brad. (Meredith's hair is down during this sequence ;) ) They light the Christmas tree and embrace each other as they deal with the holidays without Sybil.

Phew! I cry and laugh a lot during this movie. It's absolutely wonderful.

Andrew's Closing Thought: Craig T. Nelson will always be Coach to me.

Apparently that's who the dad is I didn't know his name!

Up Next: Frosty the Snowman