The Family Stone (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Trailer-Big Momma's House 2, Walk The Line, Shopgirl Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Sarah Jessica Parker And Dermot Mulroney (Actors) Audio Commentary-Filmmakers' Featurette-Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session Featurette-Fox Movie Channel Presents World Premiere Featurette-October 8, 2005: Q & A With Cast At ScreenActorsGuildTheater Featurette-Behind The Scenes Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	99:00 (Case: 103)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Thomas Bezucha
Studio Distributor	Fox 2000 Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Claire Danes Diane Keaton Rachel McAdams Dermot Mulroney Craig T. Nelson Sarah Jessica Parker Luke Wilson Tyrone Giordano Brian J. White Elizabeth Reaser Paul Schneider Savannah Stehlin Jamie Kaler
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	Michael Giacchino

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary English Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

   The Family Stone is the result of merging a Christmas movie with Meet the Parents. It so shamelessly mines the conventions of these sub-genres, throwing in a dying family member for good measure, that it ought not to work. The fact that it does work, and at times works extremely well, is a credit to the earnest direction of writer Thomas Bezucha and the ensemble talent he has gathered.

    The Stone family is gathering for Christmas. Mother and father (Dianne Keaton and Craig T Nelson) are loving parents of five very different children. Everett (Dermott Mulroney) has gone out into corporate America and snared a fiancé, Meredith, played by Sarah Jessica-Parker. Brittle, twitchy and with a mobile phone habit that requires therapy, she is flat out terrified at the prospect of meeting the Stone family for Christmas. Since the family home is in Connecticut she is trapped within its walls and at the mercy of the rest of the family. Pulling up in the driveway Jessica-Parker's face has the frightened look of a dog at the vet.

    The family take one look at the very New York Meredith and decide she is just not right. She is all deals and dynamism whereas they are thoroughly Bohemian. Comedy ensues as every effort she or they take to build bridges results in those bridges not just falling but catching fire on the way down! Intermingled with the laughs are some genuine dramatic moments and very real flashes of anger, and these moments work just as well as the comedy. In fact, if the film has a major problem it is that it tries to move between near farce and drama in a way that is sometimes unbalanced.

    The plot turns are sometimes as creaky as a farmhouse door but, as said, the actors smooth over the rough patches with real and engaging performances. Dianne Keaton is strong as the mother and Luke Wilson makes an endearing gentle-hearted slacker. Younger sister Amy (Rachael McAdam) is so spitefully adolescent and evil to Meredith that you want to slap her and hug her at the same time. Jessica-Parker has never been better on film.

    As a fascinating aspect of the plot one of the Stones, Thad, played by deaf actor Tyrone Giordano, is deaf which means that the cast often have to communicate with signing. Rather than just a token effort the signing is in fact an integral part of the dialogue and the cast sign whenever Thad is around, not just when he is being spoken to. In the extra materials all the actors describe the challenge of learning to sign.

    The plot changes gear when, in sheer desperation, Meredith calls her sister to come for support. The sister, a luminous Clare Danes, is immediately embraced by the family which doubles the overall level of conflict. The confusions that develop seem more in keeping with a farce and lack the ring of truth. Talking about rings, the family stone of the title is Grandma Stone's ring. Everett wants to present it to Meredith but Mum can't bring herself to hand it over.

    The climax of all the comedy and drama plays out in a scene around the tree on Christmas Day which is as riotous as it is touching.

    The Family Stone will not win any awards for originality. However, it is an immensely likeable movie which mixes up the high comedy with some genuine and heartfelt drama. When played out by the likes of Keaton, Jessica-Parker and the rest of the cast it makes for a complete film.

Video

     This is a recent mid budget Hollywood movie. It is rendered in its theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is 16x9 enhanced.

    As you would have a right to expect the transfer quality is close to perfect. The source print is flawless with no artefacts or imperfections.

    There is no grain and the colours are bright and warm. Most of the lighting is of the Christmas warm glow variety.

    The picture is nice and sharp without being stark. Check out the snow scene at 33.45 (apparently shot during a blizzard) and the Christmas lights at 50.37 for examples of the quality of the image.

    Subtitles are provided for the hearing impaired. They are clear and easy to read and provide an accurate rendition of the on-screen dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

    Sound is provided by way of a Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) track.

    The sound is rich and involving. Dialogue is pre-eminent in this movie and it is audible at all times. There are no problems with audio sync.

    The music for this movie involves a blend of Christmas tunes with a warm orchestral score. It is light and enjoyable.

    Surround effect is limited and the subwoofer gets only limited use. However, the film does not suffer in its absence.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Audio Sync
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Trailers

Main Menu Introduction

Audio Commentary: Actors

Audio Commentary: Filmmakers

Featurette-Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session

    This is a fairly lengthy introduction to the movie and includes some shots of the cast having fun on the set. It is fairly comprehensive and includes detailed descriptions of some of the design decisions including the costuming. It's hard not to get the feeling that the crew put their heart and soul into the movie.

Featurette-Fox Movie Channel Presents World Premiere

    This is a short red-carpet special. Whilst it has moments of interest it is largely a back-patting exercise.

Featurette-October 8, 2005: Q & A With Cast At Screen Actors Guild Theater

    Not surprisingly this Q & A session is light on details but high on personality. Jessica-Parker is a talker and dominates this session although it is undercut with some genuinely funny asides from Luke Wilson.

Outtakes

    The outtakes are worth a look but not all that funny. They fall into the category of "I forgot my line" rather than "a piece of the set just fell on my head".

    The features on the Region 1 DVD are identical except that the disc features more language options. Choose the Region 4.

    Like any other Christmas movie, The Family Stone invites cynicism. True it contains just about as much treacle as any other entry in the genre. What is surprising is that within this throwaway genre is a film of genuine heart and style. Director Bezucha gives it his all and the cast respond in a very real way to the material. In the extra materials the director says that the cast rehearsed together as a family and it shows in their performances. Like your favourite tinsel this may just be a film to watch each year as the yuletide approaches.

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