The Family Stone (2005) or, Meredith Did Nothing Wrong, You Jerks!!!

[Wiendish Fitch]

Ah, The Family Stone, one of the most deliciously hate-able movies we love to vent about. This allegedly heartwarming "dramedy" is in fact an unintentional lesson of horrific screenwriting and character building: the Stones are framed as freewheeling, liberal, and progressive, when they are in fact emotionally abusive, judgmental,  and hypocritical. Meanwhile, the our supposed antagonist Meredith is meant to be viewed as uptight, conservative, no fun, and mean, when she is actually a shy, insecure, normal woman who is a victim of the Stones's cruelty and passive aggression (later aggressive aggression).

Let's air our grievances with this unappetizing crap casserole of a movie, and share insights old and new.

[Spartan Girl]

Everett deserved to have that casserole dish smashed over his stupid, fickle head.

And honestly, I don't know why Meredith wound up with Luke Wilson. Sure he was the only one that was halfway decent to her, but he was still kind of a douche for 1) pointing out to Everett right in front of Meredith that he didn't even love her and 2) the whole unintiinally leading Meredith to think that they had sex thing.  Cardinal rule: when a woman wakes up in a guy's bed, undressed, and can't remember the night before, she's automatically going to assume the worst.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Full disclosure - I've never liked Sarah Jessica Parker and think that she's a moderately bad to dreadful actress. And I have always liked Claire Danes, who played Meredith's sister Julie. So it pains me to have to say it say, but the crap way the Stones treat Meredith pretty much from the second she steps into their house made me wish she'd never agreed to marry Everett in the first place, much less meet his stupid family and bring her sister along. If I squint hard enough, I can see why they would take offense to what she said about gay men adopting children, but Amy had already decided she hated her by then, and the others were following her lead by baiting traps for Meredith. Not cool.

[Ohwell]

Not only did I hate the family and Everett, but I also hated Meredith's sister, who saw no problem winding up with her sister's ex-boyfriend. 

And I had extreme hatred for Rachel MacAdams, and while it's unfair to her, I haven't liked her since in any movie.

[VCRTracking]

I like Rachel McAdams a lot in Wedding Crashers, The Notebook, Mean Girls, Red Eye and even Doctor Strange. She can be so lovely, but yeah, when she can be a bitch in a movie she can be a BITCH. She's not even fun mean like when she's Regina George, she's just mean.

[Ohwell]

I hated that family so much until I couldn't even dredge up sympathy for Diane Keaton and her illness and eventual death.  I just didn't care about her.

I thought Luke Wilson was nice enough, but I wished that Meredith would have just left that whole family alone.  And while I hated Claire Danes for what she did, I could see her and Meredith still having a relationship.  Just make sure that jackhole Everett was never around.  

But, of course, at the end everyone was just one big happy family.  Ugh.

[SlovakPrincess]

Oh man do I hate this movie.  

I hate the family, especially the Rachel McAdams character, who is an obnoxious, superior brat with no reason to feel superior -- she acts and dresses like a slob, she is mean, she seems to have no interests aside from being insulting and nosy, and I have NO idea why that guy at the end is so into her.  

I hate that they have extraneous characters, like the one nice, boring sister who is just kind of there.

I hate that it's marketed as this quirky family dramady when actually it's about miserable, annoying people and cancer.

I hate that the one brother is just a collection of themes to make the family look open-minded and progressive -- he's gay!  He's hearing-impaired! His husband is a different race!  He ... doesn't get to have any personality or conflicts of his own, and he barely communicates at all.  It's insulting.  

I find the SJP character irritating, but I'm even more annoyed that I'm supposed to think her fickle fiancée and oblivious, self centered sister are any better.  They aren't!   They are so much worse!

What the hell kind of person just sits there like a lump after a loud crash that sounds like their distraught sister driving into a tree??!  Luke Wilson's character is the only one to go outside and check -- these people are the worst.

Edited May 29, 2017 by SlovakPrincess

[Ohwell]

Oooh I forgot about Rachel McAdams winding up with that nice guy.  That also pissed me off because he could have, and should have, done much better than that mean bitch.  Guess he was just over the moon that a reasonably attractive woman would be interested in him.  Poor dumb bastard.

7 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I hate that the one brother is just a collection of themes to make the family look open-minded and progressive -- he's gay!  He's hearing-impaired! His husband is a different race!  He ... doesn't get to have any personality or conflicts of his own, and he barely communicates at all.  It's insulting.  

Yeah, that too.  They checked all the boxes, didn't they?

[absnow54]

Oh man, this movie makes me so mad, but I will watch it every. time. it's. on. The brother/sister swapping is so weird and holy shit, aside from her one misguided commentary on gay couple adopting, Meredith was not that bad. 

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

Oh man, this movie makes me so mad, but I will watch it every. time. it's. on. The brother/sister swapping is so weird and holy shit, aside from her one misguided commentary on gay couple adopting, Meredith was not that bad. 

 

8 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

 If I squint hard enough, I can see why they would take offense to what she said about gay men adopting children, but Amy had already decided she hated her by then, and the others were following her lead by baiting traps for Meredith. Not cool.

This is why I cut Meredith slack for the dinner scene. For whatever prejudices she had, Meredith was nothing but polite to the brother -- and not in the patronizing "look at how nonracist I am" way, just polite. Yet Rachel McAdams and the mother, from what I could see, kept baiting Meredith with politics, deliberately provoking her for a reaction. What Meredith said was stupid, but did she really deserve that harridan screaming "GOD DAMN YOU"?

Plus, Everett knew she had conservative views. If he had such an issue with it, why did he date her in the first place? Dickwad.

[Chairperson Meow]

I actually like SJP.  I liked all the actors in the film, but they were rude to Meredith.  I normally would probably be annoyed with that type of character, but I hated how they treated her.  I also hated that Everett would even think of just trading sisters.  

[SlovakPrincess]

I don't even think Meredith was that conservative, she was just reacting to the mother's over-compensating claim that she would've been disappointed if her son weren't gay.  Like, yes, of course it's great that they fully accepted their son and are rightly proud of him and his nice husband, but it still would've been reasonable to fear that other people would be prejudiced and cruel and thus make his life harder because he's gay  ... which is all Meredith was saying (badly, but still).   

[Anela]

I hated this movie - and I'm a Liberal (responding to the OP) - I totally agree with you, about how awful the family was. I've only ever seen it once, because I hated them so much.

Funny, I was just talking about how I've hated some of the movies that seem to be most loved. I know people who have this as their favourite Christmas movie. 

[voiceover]

2 hours ago, Anela said:

 I know people who have this as their favourite Christmas movie. 

Eeeyyeeeuuwww, really?  I almost didn't look at this thread because this film so annoys that I didn't want to be reminded of it!

(but I'm glad I looked in to read the snark)

Agreed that the whole family was dreadful -- like passing a kidney stone (yes I went there); and the deaf son & spouse were like some kind of Onion-inspired headline about Hollywood diversity casting.

Meredith was no prize, but classier than the treatment she got.  That photo of a young, pregnant Diane Keaton was the only genuine moment in this wretched waste of celluloid.

Edited May 30, 2017 by voiceover

[Anela]

49 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Eeeyyeeeuuwww, really?  I almost didn't look at this thread because this film so annoys that I didn't want to be reminded of it!

(but I'm glad I looked in to read the snark)

Agreed that the whole family was dreadful -- like passing a kidney stone (yes I went there); and the deaf son & spouse were like some kind of Onion-inspired headline about Hollywood diversity casting.

Meredith was no prize, but classier than the treatment she got.  That photo of a young, pregnant Diane Keaton was the only genuine moment in this wretched waste of celluloid.

Yeah, a couple of people mentioned it, and I kept my "WTF?" to myself.  I didn't want to be rude to them, but I don't get it. My whole family hated this movie. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Anela

[cpcathy]

I'm glad Diane Keaton's character died in that movie. That's all.

[Athena]

This movie was so bad that I really thought the whole family was a satire. Still the ending leaves me to think it's suppose to heartwarming fluff which ick.

Wouldn't rewatch this terrible movie though.

[Spartan Girl]

14 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I don't even think Meredith was that conservative, she was just reacting to the mother's over-compensating claim that she would've been disappointed if her son weren't gay.  Like, yes, of course it's great that they fully accepted their son and are rightly proud of him and his nice husband, but it still would've been reasonable to fear that other people would be prejudiced and cruel and thus make his life harder because he's gay  ... which is all Meredith was saying (badly, but still).   

Yeah, the more that I think about it, the more I think that Diane Keaton's comment about "I always wanted you to be gay so that you could stay my little boy forever" was more offensive than anything Meredith said.  I mean, gay guys grow up and lead independent lives, they don't stay mama's boys forever!  What the hell, movie?!

[cpcathy]

Now that I read that quote it makes even less sense. Gay, deaf son should have thrown a sign language F U to his mother and stormed out with the husband and baby!

[slf]

Meredith was just so yikes; "I love the gays" and shouting at the deaf son upon meeting him? Zoiks. I don't blame them for shutting down any of her ignorant comments but the family just. wouldn't. stop. And like @SlovakPrincess pointed out most of their comments were over-compensating "we're so progressive and totally not racist or homophobic!" drivel that's almost just as bad. It's repeatedly implied in the film that the Stones are actually like that all the time, so while Meredith deserves some heat they probably would've behaved the same way even if she was a saint.

Everyone in this movie is an asshole. The appeal of this film escapes me.

[SlovakPrincess]

Honestly, two little tweaks would've made the movie much more palatable: (1) a short scene with the gay deaf brother and his husband alone, hiding from the family in the car maybe and joking about how the family is exhausting or discussing their own lives and worries like real humans; and (2) get rid of nice, boring sister and give her scene in the bedroom with Diane Keaton to Rachel McAdams ... if we knew Amy was lashing out because she knows her mother is sick again, her over-the-top meanness might make more sense.  

I hate this movie, and I think I may have given it way more thought than the people who made it ...

[Perfect Xero]

I just realized while reading this thread that this movie is the face to face equivalent of watching someone make a questionable comment about race, gender, or sexuality on social media out of ignorance and/or poor wording rather than any malice and then getting dragged, piled on, and treated like LITERALLY HITLER.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Perfect Xero

[Spartan Girl]

6 hours ago, Perfect Xero said:

I just realized while reading this thread that this movie is the face to face equivalent of watching someone make a questionable comment about race, gender, or sexuality on social media out of ignorance and/or poor wording rather than any malice and then getting dragged, piled on, and treated like LITERALLY HITLER.

This. Any faux-pas that Meredith made were clearly because she was so wound up about meeting her potential in-laws, which as we all now, is a very trying experience under any circumstances. The fact that Bitch Sister and Hag Mother proceeded to dump on her at every turn did not help matters. 

And IMO, the cancer was no excuse for treating a guest like that.

[VCRTracking]

There's a great scene in The Aviator where Katherine Hepburn(Cate Blanchett) takes Howard Hughes(Leonardo DiCaprio) and they're insufferable and condescending.  He finally has enough and he calls out their crap which I wish SJP had done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br-ljup5Bow

Edited June 1, 2017 by VCRTracking

[MisterBluxom]

On 2017-05-29 at 0:19 PM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Full disclosure - I've never liked Sarah Jessica Parker and think that she's a moderately bad to dreadful actress. And I have always liked Claire Danes, who played Meredith's sister Julie. So it pains me to have to say it say, but the crap way the Stones treat Meredith pretty much from the second she steps into their house made me wish she'd never agreed to marry Everett in the first place, much less meet his stupid family and bring her sister along. If I squint hard enough, I can see why they would take offense to what she said about gay men adopting children, but Amy had already decided she hated her by then, and the others were following her lead by baiting traps for Meredith. Not cool.

For the most part, I have to agree about SJP. I can't recall any movie in which she has appeared that she didn't ruin it for me.

The one exception is: Did you Hear About the Morgans? (2009)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314228/

I've always liked this movie. It was only rated at 4.8 on IMDB which is really terrible considering the average rating is close to 7.0.

Not sure why I've always liked this movie. Maybe it was due to the chemistry between SJP and Hugh Grant? I don't know.

I just wanted to post here in order to tell people who have never seen this movie they should take a look at it.

[methodwriter85]

Was the photo of young Diane Keaton being pregnant photoshopped or from a movie? She never had biological children.

A man who was a dog groomer or something like came to my class and claimed that he met Diane Keaton. She snapped her fingers at him while getting her dogs groomed and he went off on her. She realized he was right, and then tried to leave him a tip, but instead he preferred a handshake. I kind of assume this was before she adopted her kids.

Edited May 31, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Spartan Girl]

The closest that Meredith comes to telling that bunch off is when she loses it when she sees Everett's ring on her sister's finger and realizes he's dumping her for her sister. She finally calls them out on the fact that they've probably been waiting for this moment: "You all hate me so much...Meredith, the spoiled crazy racist bigot bitch from Manhattan, come to ruin our Christmas -- not good enough for our Everett!"

And they have the nerve to act shocked -- "That's not true, we don't hate you" -- pretending like they haven't made her life a nightmare for the past several days!

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/31/2017 at 5:58 PM, MissBluxom said:

For the most part, I have to agree about SJP. I can't recall any movie in which she has appeared that she didn't ruin it for me.

The one exception is: Did you Hear About the Morgans? (2009)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314228/

I've always liked this movie. It was only rated at 4.8 on IMDB which is really terrible considering the average rating is close to 7.0.

Not sure why I've always liked this movie. Maybe it was due to the chemistry between SJP and Hugh Grant? I don't know.

I just wanted to post here in order to tell people who have never seen this movie they should take a look at it.

That's so funny.  I'm an SJP fan, and that's the SJP movie I find the most dreadful.  LOL.  Just shows you how different people's tastes are.

Anyways, I rewatched this movie just because I know people reference it so much on Twitter and because it's so controversial here.

I can totally see why people think Diane and Rachel's characters were assholes.  However, Meredith's little speech about how she wouldn't want her kid to be gay?  Extremely, extremely cringe-worthy today in 2017.  However, I could totally see being at dinner  with someone speaking like that.  I've been at many dinners where someone said something so offensive it blew my mind.  I stay inside my radical-left Twitter bubble and I can be naive.  And I try to remember the movie was 12 years ago.  But for me, Meredith was not perfect.  But the family were assholes to her UNTIL THAT SPEECH, and that made no sense.  I could see being weird to her AFTER, not BEFORE.

BTW some people were asking what the officer character could see in Rachel McAdams's character.  Well, to me she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.  Even in this movie, she is just so stunning.  That jawline.

That photo of Diane Keaton?  Looks so so so much like Lisa Kudrow to me.

Edited June 11, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[slf]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I can totally see why people think Diane and Rachel's characters were assholes.  However, Meredith's little speech about how she wouldn't want her kid to be gay?  Extremely, extremely cringe-worthy today in 2017.  However, I could totally see being at dinner  with someone speaking like that.  I've been at many dinners where someone said something so offensive it blew my mind.  I stay inside my radical-left Twitter bubble and I can be naive.  And I try to remember the movie was 12 years ago.  But for me, Meredith was not perfect.  But the family were assholes to her UNTIL THAT SPEECH, and that made no sense.  I could see being weird to her AFTER, not BEFORE.

That whole dinner scene was just so, so cringey. First, Meredith's sister, the one everyone likes, asks Thad and his husband if they have a preference regarding the race of their child. And I'm like, what are you an anthropologist? Who even thinks to ask that? Oh yeah, a white person asking a mixed race couple about their child. And it's hilarious because Meredith is all scandalized, "Julie!" But then it's like she takes that as permission to just go in and just opens with, "Do you believe in nature versus nurture? Is that all a concern in terms of bringing a child into your house?" And when Thad is understandably confused with that random af question she clarifies, "Well, I just mean the gay thing. I mean, there's no irrefutable evidence one way or the other. They think they've isolated a gene, but they don't know what it's for or what it does." And it's like, oh. She wants to know if they're afraid their child will be gay or if they figure they can just raise the child to be straight and she thinks this is fine and an acceptable thing to ask a gay couple. And while the Stones are generally horrible they actually just run with what's coming out of her mouth and crack jokes but she doesn't stop. "You didn't really... You didn't really hope for gay children, did you? Well, I don't think that anyone wishes for that." Ugh. And they actually give her several chances to clarify that she's not actually saying what she's saying but then she comes out with "I just think any parent would want a normal child." She absolutely deserved every bit of flack she took for that.

While I don't agree with everything in Pajiba's review of the movie I like the way they describe the Stones:

"The Family Stone tracks Christmas weekend with the Stone family, one of those idealized, liberal New England families that listens to NPR, sips cappuccinos in the morning, wears ridiculously fashionable pajamas, and — for all intents and purposes — doesn’t actually exist except onscreen. Each one of the children seems to fit into one of the five identifiable made-for-movies demographics: Susannah is a pregnant stay-at-home mom who hyphenates her last name; Amy is the snarky, rebellious daughter, inasmuch as occasionally raising her voice can constitute “rebellious”; Ben is the SoCal stoner type, inasmuch the recreational use of marijuana in a very liberal, intelligence-engendering sort of way can constitute “stoner”; Everett is the bland, homogeneous, overachieving wunderkind who these stories tend to center around; and Thad, who is gay, deaf, and has a black boyfriend, is the Stones’ utility infielder, covering any of the empty bases left by a script that is so aware of its own political correctness you could almost puke all over your Ferragamo shoes. Rounding out the Stone clan are the Ma and Pa Kettle of this snow-covered, picket-fenced utopia: Kelly and Sybil Stone, who just so happen to be the kind of perfect parents that could only be ruffled by overt Republicanism or a Wal-Mart opening up in their neighborhood."

Edited June 11, 2017 by slf

[Ms Blue Jay]

Meredith has NO IDEA - NONE - that it might be offensive to ask two gay men whether they are scared they might have a gay child and has NO IDEA that it might be offensive to suggest that it would be a bad thing for them to have a gay child.    ...  But I keep reminding myself.... it's 12 years ago?  Anyway, it's hard for me to see Meredith as any kind of hero through my 2017 lens.

For me, it's Luke Wilson's character.  Sorry, I see absolutely nothing wrong with anything he did or said.  He's pretty much perfect to me. And he is sweet to Meredith from the get-go for what seem to be purely selfless reasons.  

I think Rachel is better here, and in Red Eye, than in Wedding Crashers.  At least she has her own agency. She has her own personality, her own wants, and desires.  In Wedding Crashers her character is the most cliched caricature of a female character as written by a man.  Has absolutely no mind of her own, is incredibly passive, is with an abusive man who doesn't treat her well nor likes her, and seems to have no inkling to change that until A Wonderful Man Comes Along to Save Her.  I do think that movie is hilarious, but her character is its worst flaw.

Edited June 11, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/30/2017 at 0:21 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Yeah, the more that I think about it, the more I think that Diane Keaton's comment about "I always wanted you to be gay so that you could stay my little boy forever" was more offensive than anything Meredith said.  I mean, gay guys grow up and lead independent lives, they don't stay mama's boys forever!  What the hell, movie?!

Cringeworthy today.  "I hoped that my sons would be gay because gay people are sentenced to a life of miserable singledom living with their mothers."  She thought gay men didn't have relationships or independency or grow up?  Very, very weird comment.  And is it supposed to be hip, fun, or cool that she made it clear she favoured her sons over her daughters?  Um...... how liberal!?  Except not?!

Edited June 11, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[NutMeg]

On 6/1/2017 at 5:58 AM, MissBluxom said:

For the most part, I have to agree about SJP. I can't recall any movie in which she has appeared that she didn't ruin it for me.

The one exception is: Did you Hear About the Morgans? (2009)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314228/

I've always liked this movie. It was only rated at 4.8 on IMDB which is really terrible considering the average rating is close to 7.0.

Not sure why I've always liked this movie. Maybe it was due to the chemistry between SJP and Hugh Grant? I don't know.

I just wanted to post here in order to tell people who have never seen this movie they should take a look at it.

I like SJP a lot in Hocus Pocus too.

On 6/1/2017 at 8:10 AM, Spartan Girl said:

The closest that Meredith comes to telling that bunch off is when she loses it when she sees Everett's ring on her sister's finger and realizes he's dumping her for her sister. She finally calls them out on the fact that they've probably been waiting for this moment: "You all hate me so much...Meredith, the spoiled crazy racist bigot bitch from Manhattan, come to ruin our Christmas -- not good enough for our Everett!"

And they have the nerve to act shocked -- "That's not true, we don't hate you" -- pretending like they haven't made her life a nightmare for the past several days!

I think they react that way because they don't see themselves as haters and are shocked that someone can read them as such.

Edited June 11, 2017 by NutMeg
typo

[Spartan Girl]

But see, that's what pisses me off so much about the dinner scene. Saint Julie makes an ignorant comment, nobody cares. Diane Keaton makes an ignorant comment about hoping her son is gay so that she could keep him all to herself, everyone laughs. But when Meredith makes an ignorant comment (and stupidly keeps babbling, probably from the anxiety stemming from the fact everyone already wrote her off as a bigot), then everyone -- including Everett -- is all, "OMG, you're a horrible person, God damn you!"

Even more irksome is how after throwing her to the wolves, Everett makes a big show of going after Meredith when she leaves upset -- and rightfully gets the door slammed in his face -- then, when "Nice" Sister asks if she's okay, he snarks back, "How would you feel?" like he didn't have anything to do with it. 

Would have been nicer if you stood up for her when she was still in the room!

[Wiendish Fitch]

Okay, I'd forgotten the depth of Meredith's ignorant little spiel, so, fine, shame on her.

 

HOWEVER.

 

There is no excuse to how she was treated before, or even after, and in that situation, when someone is rambling inappropriately about a sensitive subject, the correct and civilized thing to do is to change the damned subject! Don't treat someone (whom you've known for less than 24 hours) like a pariah for the first major mistake! Hell, everyone sticks their foot in their mouths, everyone has a blind spot about something, that doesn't necessarily make them a full-fledged bigot!

See, it just shows how utterly shitty the screenplay is: what is it trying to prove? Are we supposed to like the Stones and view them as role models? Because I definitely don't, and their despicable hypocrisy just can't be ignored. Being liberal doesn't automatically make you "good". Is Meredith the villain? Because she isn't, but she isn't exactly viewed as misunderstood, either. This is not some thought-provoking, complex indie, it's a dumb Hollywood comedy, don't think giving it "layers" will make it good! Trust me, screenwriters, you're out of your depth, and it shows!

[mattie0808]

15 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

But see, that's what pisses me off so much about the dinner scene. Saint Julie makes an ignorant comment, nobody cares. Diane Keaton makes an ignorant comment about hoping her son is gay so that she could keep him all to herself, everyone laughs. But when Meredith makes an ignorant comment (and stupidly keeps babbling, probably from the anxiety stemming from the fact everyone already wrote her off as a bigot), then everyone -- including Everett -- is all, "OMG, you're a horrible person, God damn you!"

Yup.

I cannot STAND this movie. I think meeting your significant other's family is almost always a very stressful situation, and I really think it's incumbent on the family to make things as smooth as possible, even if (or, especially if) you wind up not liking the person or don't think the person is right for the family member. Those are perfectly valid feelings and opinions to have, but you accomplish nothing but being a mean, rude, JACKASS by making your dislike clear, further agitating someone already clearly nervous, magnifying each and every problem and mistake, and GANGING UP ON THE PERSON as a group.

It doesn't seem like a big deal in some respects, which is why it does my Family Stone-hating heart sooooooo much good to see the hatred for this movie here. Whatever I might have thought of Meredith in almost literally any other situation, all I could do is feel sorry for her in this movie. That family fancies themselves so awesome, smart, tolerant, inclusive, caring, and whatever other wonderful adjectives they would undoubtedly give themselves without hesitation, but all I saw in them was that they are MEAN. And they punch-down. GTFO.

Edited June 12, 2017 by mattie0808

[Mabinogia]

12 hours ago, mattie0808 said:

Whatever I might have thought of Meredith in almost literally any other situation, all I could do is feel sorry for her in this movie.

Yeah, I didn't actually like Meredith much, but OMG I felt so bad for her being ganged up on like that. I mean, she had to be freaked out nervous about meeting the family. I'm assuming he told her enough about them for her to realize she wasn't going to fit right in but my god, they were terrible!

If I were in her shoes I would seriously be rethinking if this guy is worth having to put up with those assholes the rest of your life.

Thing is, I actually like pretty much the whole cast. It is a testament to how terrible their characters were that I really didn't feel bad for any of them except Meredith. I just hate when people are ganged up on in such an unmatched way. I mean, she really was trying so hard to make a good impression but they just had no fucks to give about her, her feelings, or anything but themselves.

[Spartan Girl]

On 6/11/2017 at 7:41 AM, NutMeg said:

I think they react that way because they don't see themselves as haters and are shocked that someone can read them as such.

 

16 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I mean, she really was trying so hard to make a good impression but they just had no fucks to give about her, her feelings, or anything but themselves.

Exactly.

On 6/11/2017 at 2:16 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

For me, it's Luke Wilson's character.  Sorry, I see absolutely nothing wrong with anything he did or said.  He's pretty much perfect to me. And he is sweet to Meredith from the get-go for what seem to be purely selfless reasons.  

I liked him up until he accidentally led her to think that they slept together.  The way he just came out of the shower with that shit-eating grin pissed me off; it took THAT long for it to finally dawn on him she was thinking that they had sex?  Dude, don't put a drunk, undressed girl in your bed.  Come to think of it, why did he take her back to that place in the first place after the way they treated her?  He could have just taken her back to her hotel and stayed with her just to make sure she was okay.

And while he was right to call out Everett that he didn't even love her, I wish he hadn't done that in front of Meredith.  That wasn't exactly considerate of her feelings, IMO.

[Mabinogia]

Luke Wilson might have been the most likeable of a completely unlikeable family, but the asshole gene still runs deep. lol I do give him credit though for at least trying to fight his family curse of assholerly. It can't be easy for him.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Plus Luke's just so  cute and charming :)

[voiceover]

On 5/31/2017 at 11:55 AM, VCRTracking said:

There's a great scene in The Aviator where Katherine Hepburn(Cate Blanchett) takes Howard Hughes(Leonardo DiCaprio) and they're insufferable and condescending.  

I can't attest to the veracity of the Hughes story, but according to Garson Kanin's Tracy and Hepburn, something similar happened when Spencer Tracy visited the Hepburn clan.

Tracy told Kanin that, one day at mealtime, Kate's dad started holding forth on the rights of Man, and how there shouldn't be private property, because of how little money the common man makes in his lifetime blahblahblahhhh...

...Then the family saw some random guy walking along their waterfront, and all of them (including Kate) ran out after him & chased him off their property.

[Wiendish Fitch]

You know what movie The Family Stone is desperately, pathetically trying to be like?

Auntie Mame.

Auntie Mame is a beloved classic, and with good reason: Mame Dennis a forward-thinking, zany free spirit (one of the few tolerable ones, IMO), eschews closed-minded snobbery, and humiliates her stepson's snooty fiancee and her parents in the film's climax.

But here's where Auntie Mame succeeds where The Family Stone fails: Mame is a flawed but genuinely good person who is often right, but suffers the consequences when she's wrong, makes some semblance of effort to get along with people who are different than she is, and most importantly?

At the climactic dinner scene, the future in-laws completely, 100% deserve their humiliation, not because they're conservative, unimaginative snobs, but because they're thoroughly awful people! They're racist, shallow bigots who patronize restricted clubs, and try to close their neighborhood off to the "wrong" people! How can you not root against them?

Even if Meredith does in fact have a prejudiced streak (which feels so clumsily written in), she isn't really a vicious or mean person; in fact, I'd feel like a grade-A sociopath rooting for her to be dragged over the coals the way she is in the movie! Everett should have defended her and/or changed the subject, pulled her aside afterwards and tactfully say "y'know what? I don't think this is going to work. Nothing personal, I hope you find happiness with someone else". But he's complicit in her emotional abuse, making him just as bad as his family. 

Edited August 27, 2017 by Wiendish Fitch

[Ms Blue Jay]

https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/why-the-family-stone-is-the-most-under-appreciated-christmas-gem-of-all-time

This was great - Sarah Jessica Parker Answers Almost Every Question We Have About The Family Stone

https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/sarah-jessica-parker-the-family-stone-interview-diane-keaton.html

[UYI]

I'll admit, even though I had heard here for YEARS how bad this movie is, I finally watched it around two Christmases ago, in large part due to my undying love for Craig T. Nelson; Coach is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. It was a fool's errand, because yes, it was every bit as bad as all of you had said, maybe even WORSE. It gets to the point where Meredith getting drunk at that bar is an oasis, because she actually gets to be happy!

I'm still shocked people say this is their/one of their favorite Christmas movies. I can only believe that: 1. They're masochists, or 2. Their families were somehow so much worse that watching the Stones is actually an improvement! 

Edited February 16, 2019 by UYI

[andromeda331]

7 hours ago, UYI said:

I'll admit, even though I had heard here for YEARS how bad this movie is, I finally watched it around two Christmases ago, in large part due to my undying love for Craig T. Nelson; Coach is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. It was a fool's errand, because yes, it was every bit as bad as all of you had said, maybe even WORSE. It gets to the point where Meredith getting drunk at that bar is an oasis, because she actually gets to be happy!

I'm still shocked people say this is their/one of their favorite Christmas movies. I can only believe that: 1. They're masochists, or 2. Their families were somehow so much worse that watching the Stones is actually an improvement! 

I'm shocked its so many people favorite Christmas movies too. They are all so horrible to Meredith who does nothing wrong. Is it fun to watch everyone dump on one person for no reason? Maybe their the ones who love Meet the Parents which I can't stand either.  I just don't get it. 

[Sandman]

On ‎5‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 12:21 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I think that Diane Keaton's comment about "I always wanted you to be gay so that you could stay my little boy forever" was more offensive than anything Meredith said.

There's loving and accepting, and then there's "My children's real value is as accessories highlighting how noble and selfless I am."

They're the Family Stone, all right: their hearts are flint, and their heads granite.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Sandman

[Wiendish Fitch]

36 minutes ago, Sandman said:

They're the Family Stone, all right: their hearts are flint, and their heads granite.

Ha! Well said!

The writers of this awful movie walked into that one, so I have no sympathy for them.

The Stones are the type of malignantly hypocritical people who preach "tolerance" at every opportunity, when what they want is to be tolerated... without ever tolerating anyone else, especially those who disagree with them. 

[Sandman]

I like the description "malignantly hypocritical," myself -- it's very apt.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 minute ago, Sandman said:

I like the description "malignantly hypocritical," myself -- it's very apt.

Thank you. :)

Y'know, say what you want about Zootopia, but I thought it did a way better job exploring relationships, stereotypes, and how we're all guilty of having underlying prejudices, but we have the capacity to rise above them if we dare to challenge ourselves. 

[andromeda331]

22 hours ago, Sandman said:

There's loving and accepting, and then there's "My children's real value is as accessories highlighting how noble and selfless I am."

They're the Family Stone, all right: their hearts are flint, and their heads granite.

21 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Ha! Well said!

The writers of this awful movie walked into that one, so I have no sympathy for them.

The Stones are the type of malignantly hypocritical people who preach "tolerance" at every opportunity, when what they want is to be tolerated... without ever tolerating anyone else, especially those who disagree with them. 

Well said! That's exactly what they are like. They are so open minded and tolerate that they hate anyone different from them and who disagrees with them. The Mom is such a great mom she was so happy her son was gay so he'd never leave her. Great Mom. It amazing to make someone so horrible that it you don't care nor are you sympathetic that she has cancer. But they managed to pull it off. The entire family has no problem treating their brother's girlfriend like crap, clearly they aren't worried that will tick off their brother/son and he'll bolt and cut them out of his lives. Well, obviously, they didn't need to worry since he clearly wasn't going to stand up for his girlfriend or care how she was treated since he ends up hooking up with her sister. What a great family. I so wish we got to see Meredith tell them all of. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Well said! That's exactly what they are like. They are so open minded and tolerate that they hate anyone different from them and who disagrees with them. The Mom is such a great mom she was so happy her son was gay so he'd never leave her. Great Mom. It amazing to make someone so horrible that it you don't care nor are you sympathetic that she has cancer. But they managed to pull it off. The entire family has no problem treating their brother's girlfriend like crap, clearly they aren't worried that will tick off their brother/son and he'll bolt and cut them out of his lives. Well, obviously, they didn't need to worry since he clearly wasn't going to stand up for his girlfriend or care how she was treated since he ends up hooking up with her sister. What a great family. I so wish we got to see Meredith tell them all of. 

I hate that Meredith didn't get the last word and tell off those assholes, (this also goes for Greg in the Meet the Parents films). Nope, she just gets to be their butt monkey from beginning to end. Yay.

What the Stones deserved was a verbal smack-down similar to the one Schroeder gives the Peanuts gang in Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.