A

Excellent movie. I'm thankful I already knew about the dramedy thing from here, as this way I was prepared for what it was. And I loved it. The entire cast, as an ensemble, worked amazingly. Virtually gave strong performances, Diane Keaton and SJP were the standouts of course. It's hard to make McAdams look like a weak link among the cast, but they managed to do it. The dialogue in the movie, the screenplay, all worked fantastic for me. I just loved listening to these people talk, the conversations. The storylines, yes the Everett and Julie thing was predictable, but at the end of the day this is a christmas movie, and it all added to the effect. I actually think the movie is quite a comedy, despite all of the mis-marketing. I did laugh at moments, and it did have a comedic sense about it, it just had it's dramatic and tense moments as well. I consider as more of a comedy than Sideways for example.

Anyways, a fantastic surprise. One of the best movies of the year.

This was supposed to be a comedy, right? It was painful to sit through.

I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this, but what appeared to be a harmless holiday comedy was actually a very well written, extremely well acted tale about the bond one family has and the difficulty a potential new member (by a marriage that could happen) to ease into it. The highlights of the cast are Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams, who are hilarious in their roles, while other quality performances come from Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker. I really enjoyed this movie, and felt that the characters were presented in such an effective way that it was easy to feel the same emotions they were.

A-

B+

It's, indeed, pretty good. I even liked Sarah Jessica Parker in this! Sort of.

no its not good!

Watched this again last night and still love it. I know it's not particularly original, has its flaws (killing two birds with one stone by combining the obligatory gay and interracial couples) and features a few too many scenes that I can only assume were added by the studio (Claire Danes' fall off the bus; the whole kitchen scene at the end), but the cast is so good together, I ignore the negatives. They actually feel like a real, identifiable family.

One of them is deaf, so it's handicapped as well.

Still love this one. Although I have to say, while Claire Danes is really appealing in this movie, it's almost jarring to see her play such a laid-back and stable person after two seasons of Homeland.

Claire Danes saves this movie from SJP.

I'm surprised this has 6 pages!

I adore this film. Watched it again in November and plan on watching it again soon. It's my favorite holiday movie. Really warms my heart.

I saw this when it came out and liked it too. Wrth seeing again.

Not a huge SJP fan, but I thought she was superb in this.

I can't say enough about the cast. With one different actor or actress, the movie may not work as well. One minor complaint: I wish Elizabeth Reaser was given a little more to do.

Same here. I really like her. And I really enjoyed her in the film but wanted even more with her.

It's been 13 years since The Family Stone was released, and I may have only missed one yearly viewing. I really love this film. It's amazing how the actors all bring so much life to their characters. Once each character is introduced, it feels like we've known them all for years. And the entire film is understated. Most Christmas films, especially ensembles, tend to make things especially loud, fast-paced and unrealistic. The Family Stone feels like a genuine gathering.

The film's lone weak spot is that scene where Dermot Mulroney chases Luke Wilson around the house, while SJP goes to retrieve the Christmas breakfast she has prepared, only to have it spilled all over her and the floor. The movie could have altered this entire scene and not missed anything. Feels so much like something they added to give the trailer some energy.

I'm disappointed this one didn't really achieve Christmas classic status like Elf and Love Actually from two years prior.

I mean the movie does still show up in the iTunes top 100 every year during the holidays. They should put it on Netflix so more will see it. I just watched it recently. Still absolutely wonderful. Every year I'm amazed and annoyed it doesn't have a Blu-ray. What the hell? I just don't know how that's possible.