The Family Stone received a mixed critical reception and holds a modest 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it did well at the box office, grossing $92.9 million on a budget of $18 million (via Box Office Mojo). Though The Family Stone is not as highly remembered as other romantic comedies of the same time period, the movie is actually very good and audiences now have the chance to rediscover this underrated holiday rom-com on Prime Video.
The Family Stone Is An Extremely Underrated Christmas Movie From The Past 20 Years
A Great Cast Brings The Stone Family To Life
One of the strongest parts of The Family Stone is its great ensemble cast. At the height of her Sex and the City fame, Sarah Jessica Parker is great as Meredith Morton, the uptight girlfriend visiting her partner’s parents for the first time, and Dermot Mulroney plays her partner. Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson star as his parents, and Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, and Elizabeth Reaser play his siblings. The Stone family dynamics and their interactions with Meredith showcase some great chemistry between the actors.
Despite their problems, the Stone family really love each other and are willing to stick up for their family, reinforcing a Christmas ideal.
The great chemistry between the Stone family and their antagonism to Meredith are both a strong point and one of the main criticisms of the movie. Each of the actors fills their roles well and are believable characters. Despite their problems, the Stone family really love each other and are willing to stick up for their family, reinforcing a Christmas ideal. However, in some scenes, reviewers noted that the characters were very unlikable, pointing to why the film has not maintained popularity like similar Christmas rom-coms.
Why The Family Stone’s Critics & Audience Reviews Are Still So Mixed
The Stones Are Not The Most Likable Rom-Com Characters
Despite, or perhaps because of, the real imperfections of the characters, audiences have mixed reactions to The Family Stone. While the movie overall presents a rather comforting depiction of a close family, each of the characters can be annoying at times because of how set they are in their own ways. To this point, many reviewers have noted that none of the characters are likable and often seem too preoccupied with their own problems (via Rotten Tomatoes).
However, this imperfection is kind of the point, since it helps to accurately represent the chaos that can be authentic to some people’s Christmas seasons. Just as some scenes can be very sweet and heartwarming, other scenes seem infuriating to certain audience members. At the end of the day, the characters’ imperfections and later attempts to make up with their family, are a perfect representation of what makes The Family Stone such a great and comforting Christmas movie.
