(2005) A sentimental romantic comedy at Christmas with a terminal tumor of sadness from director/writer Thomas Bezucha brings together the family Stone. First to arrive for the holidays at the home of Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) and Sybil Stone (Diane Keaton) in the quaint New England town of Thayer are youngest son Thad (Ty Giordano), who's deaf, and his gay black partner Patrick Thomas (Brian White); the youngest child Amy (Rachel McAdams) is a feisty fledgling still in the nest. Next enters married and pregnant daughter Susannah Trousdale (Elizabeth Reaser) with her child Elizabeth; her husband John will arrive later.

The assembled await the return of the oldest sibling, Everett (Dermot Mulroney), with his fiancée, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), a sophisticated city girl with a successful career in finance. Then in walks irreverent Ben (Luke Wilson), who also resides under Mom and Dad's roof. Amy, who makes fun of Meredith's habit of clearing her throat, ends up sleeping on the couch when her room goes to Meredith, who refuses to sleep with Everett before they're married in his bedroom in his parents' home.

Unable to act naturally within the informality of Everett's family, she asks if he has any doubts because she obviously does, resulting in her leaving the house to check into the local inn and calling her sister Julie (Clare Danes) for moral support. "Doesn't she know or trust herself?" Kelly asks his wife, implying that Everett may not either.

Dad reads the riot act to the family, demanding civility and an open-arms welcome for Meredith; however, Sybil refuses to give Everett her mother's wedding ring as he says she had promised. At the jeweler's to purchase a new wedding ring for Meredith, Everett also hears Thad's plea: "Please, don't marry her."

Outside with Ben, Kelly reveals Sybil's medical condition. Arriving on the Pilgrim Line from Bedford, Julie falls on her face in front of Thad and Everett, whose eyes flash on like a pair of electric decorations. At dinner Meredith continues to put her foot in her mouth, sounding like a homophobic racist, opining that no mother would want a child born gay, which upsets both Sybil and Thad.

Embarrassed, she excuses herself, gets into the car, and runs into the bushes; coming to her rescue, Ben takes her to O'Malley's bar to help her relax - "You have a freak flag, you just don't fly it" - where she gets drunk and crazy, letting her hair down and saying when introduced to Brad Stevenson (Paul Schneider): "You popped Amy's cherry."

At the same time Everett and Julie take a stroll to get acquainted as future in-laws. On Christmas morning, Meredith wakes up in Ben's bed while Everett asks Julie to try on the wedding ring, which gets stuck on her finger. Before long Everett is ripping into his brother as if he were a Christmas present. The ending is predictable once Julie slips on the ice while stepping off the bus.

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Copyright © 2008 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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