Thomas Bezucha

A thoroughly enjoyable film set over three days before Christmas. Diane Keaton is the mother of five adult offspring - they all meet, with their various partners and one precocious daughter at the parental home. Family dynamics are at play as one of the sons has a new and rather tactless girlfriend whom one of his sisters has previously met, and dislikes intensely. There's a lot of humour, and a very poignant thread too.

Some significant issues are lightly touched upon, and it was good to see the family using sign language naturally (one of the brothers is deaf). There's a cleverly choreographed kitchen disaster that verges on slapstick but was so well done that although I cringed the first time I saw it, I found it quite amusing the second time.

Rated 12 which seems right to me. Highly recommended for adults or older teens looking for a character-based light Christmas romantic comedy.

Longer review here; https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-family-stone.html… (meer)

Reviews

New York Times

Big Eden may be less a dream of finding perfect romance than a simpler, but somehow more touching, fantasy of simply being accepted. Dave Kehr

Synopsis

All Movie Guide

Arye Gross plays an up-and-coming artist who foregoes the convenience of big-city life for the charms of Montana in this drama, writer-director Thomas Bezucha's debut feature. On the eve of his first show at the Whitney Museum, Henry (Gross) hears news that his grandfather back home has had a stroke. Upon returning to his idyllic birthplace, however, Henry realizes that the old man isn't the only thing he has to tend to: There's the semi-closeted issue of his sexuality, which he longs to reveal to his clan -- as well as to his old high-school crush, Dean (Tim DeKay). Amidst all the angst, Henry fails to notice the advances of the sensitive Pike (Eric Schweig), an espresso-brewing outdoorsman who owns the town's general store and cooks meals for the stroke-addled grandpa Sam (George Coe). Michael Hastings… (meer)