Romancemas Day 6: The Family Stone

For the sixth day of Romancemas, we’re bringing the drama.

It’s late 2005. Rachel McAdams is Hollywood’s next It Girl and Sex and the City just completed its final season. Everyone is still quoting Wedding Crashers and every teenager in the United States is refusing to speak at dinner until they get a cell phone. No one knows what YouTube is yet and everyone is mad at George W. Bush. This is the world of The Family Stone, a forgotten Christmas gem and liberal rallying cry that deserves a second look.

After all, the mid aughts star power of this movie is overwhelming. There’s Rachel McAdams, for starters, fresh off the dual success of Mean Girls and The Notebook and poised for a series of eccentric projects before entering her second career as a dramatist and Marvel supporting player. Then there’s Diane Keaton in full Dianaissance mode, having recently relaunched her brand as a confident and sexy woman of a certain age. In the men’s section, there’s Dermot Mulroney, Hollywood’s go-to handsome-adjacent supporting character of the ‘90s and aughts. There’s also Luke Wilson, who at this point has not yet been fully eclipsed by his brother. And, finally, there’s Sarah Jessica Parker, who is desperately trying to make the world forget Sex and the City by taking every unlikeable role that comes her way. There’s also Claire Danes! Well, are you ready?

Let’s watch The Family Stone!

Official Day 6 companion = Popcorn and liberal tears 

Did I mention that this movie is a liberal fever dream? I mean, it features an interracial gay couple, one of whom is Deaf. (And mind you, this movie came out at at a time when people still used the “r” word and same sex marriage was only legal in Massachusetts. It was very ahead of its time.) So, yes, this titular family is bohemian to their core, which instantly lends the movie a benevolent, generous quality that makes left-minded viewers feel instantly warm inside.

And then Sarah Jessica Parker’s uptight city gal character shows up. As the girlfriend of the family’s prodigal son, and thus the intended recipient of the family’s heirloom wedding ring (the titular stone), she’s under intense scrutiny. She also whiffs it right away, making faux pas after faux pas as she furiously tries to win her found family’s affection. It’s more cringe than comedy, but as the movie plays out and its secrets unravel, you can’t help but smile–and cry–and smile again. I mean, the emotional twist in the end will leave you devastated. While its implications lead the movie into drama territory, it also recasts every single character in a new light. 

And yet, this movie is not considered a Christmas classic! Perhaps the tonal shifts turn off viewers. Or, perhaps, the combination of Dermot Mulroney and Luke Wilson is not handsome-adjacent enough to get tongues wagging. Or, perhaps, the idea of an interracial same-sex romance isn’t groundbreaking anymore. Whatever the case, I would argue in return that Christmas is about celebrating love in all its forms, and this movie does exactly that! It’s the cinematic equivalent of a fresh cup of hot chocolate, and that’s something worth celebrating.