Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Poseidon-3 Thanksgiving rolls around for an upper-middle-class Maine family and the parents open their door, in some cases rather reluctantly, to their four children and a few others. Quirky Holloman is still living at home. Depressed Wyle is returning home for the first time in years following a dust-up with his father Scheider. Stone-hearted Moore with her husband Kerwin and handsome, successful Vartan with his girlfriend Davis round out the family. (A couple of friends, Duva and Bauer, attend for Thanksgiving dinner.) As the dysfunctional siblings converge at their parents' home, their varied issues are observed and their inherent inability to get along is examined. Scheider prefers to stay to himself, sometimes taking long walks while the mother Danner attempts to soothe everyone with her warm amiability. Wyle is nervous about meeting up with his ex-girlfriend Bareikis, Moore comes upon a long-forgotten childhood admirer (LeGros) and Holloman seems to take particular interest in Kerwin, who Moore frequently ignores. Naturally, on Thanksgiving Day, tempers flare and a bit of a confrontation occurs. However, nothing is really solved or healed and everyone starts off on their separate ways again. This film has a gorgeous, elegant look to it. The cinematography highlights the pretty surroundings and the attractive cast. Unfortunately, the story is just a bit too threadbare and disjointed to really hold the viewers attention completely. Director Freundlich has done the near impossible. He has made 90 minutes seem like 180 minutes. Scenes don't drag on. On the contrary, many of them are very, very brief. It's just that not enough ever seems to happen and the fact that many of the characters are unsympathetic doesn't help in putting the film across. Wyle is quite one-note throughout and is not captivating enough to carry his portion of the film. Moore is steely and striking-looking and provides more than a few interesting moments along the way, but her story is never fully fleshed out or explained. Davis injects a welcome dose of personality and humor into the film. LeGros also adds zany energy to his scenes. Danner is radiant. Her classy looks and manner and her acting skill aid the film enormously, though, like several others, there isn't a lot for her to work with. Vartan, in particular, has a virtually meaningless role. Holloman overacts in order to come up with something to do. It's nice to see Kerwin amongst all the others and he does a good job in his role. Scheider is also solid, though his behavior is, like so much else, left without explanation. It's an attractive, well-performed film which, sadly, doesn't have an involving enough script to warrant a feature film. It feels hollow at its core, despite the acting talent assembled for it. Though it is to be commended for avoiding a huge, unrealistic revelation or massive conflict, it can't escape a sort of "so what" feeling by the time it has limped through to its conclusion. Even the director admitted that it was all "played out" by the 86 minute mark.

fee_tambo I just watched this film, and I came on here to see if I'd missed something that I really should have paid attention to! I really cant help but think 'Geez, that's an hour and 40 minutes of my life that I'll never get back!' I must admit that I think the acting was great, Juliana Moore was amazing and so was Noah Wyle, but what was the point of the sister and the other brother? What was going on with the brothers blonde girlfriend? she was perky and had some personality but it went nowhere... the story was just so slow and - how do I put this? non descript! If you want to see a film with a dysfunctional family, inappropriate relationships, humour and an answer to the questions posed during the movie, then watch The Family Stone...now THAT'S a movie worth seeing.

fandangonoir I turned this off after the first five minutes when I first saw it on TV. After seeing it again years later I enjoyed it a lot more than I though I would. It's just a simple story of a fairly dysfunctional family getting together for the holidays.I liked the beautiful, sparsely populated Maine setting. James LeGros' off the wall character was the best thing about the film. I would have liked to have seen more of him. And hallelujah, one of my all time favorite actors, Roy Schneider is back in A-list action after being stuck in B-movie hell for so damn long. Noah Wyle and redheaded vixen Julianne Moore dish out good performances as well.It's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination. Just a surprisingly good one. It could have been a bit longer, maybe the screenplay punched up and it would qualify as great. But kudos all around nonetheless to the cast and filmmakers, they still did themselves proud, baby. This movie is a hidden gem. It wasn't widely seen as it should have been.

Michael O'Keefe Noah Wyle, of TVs ER, plays a young man than returns home after several years for a Thanksgiving reunion of his dysfunctional upper-class family. The weekend is marred by unresolved issues. Conflict, rage, guilt, animosity and apathy cloud the incompatible gathering. Heavy weight drama written and directed by Bart Freundlich. Passions simmer and there is very little people pleasing skills applied.Along with the very good acting of Wyle is Julianne Moore. Also cast stand outs are Blythe Danner, Roy Scheider, Laurel Holloman and Christopher Duva. Skip your twelve step meeting and watch this. It works if you work it.