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The Family Stone

(2005, Rated PG-13, Comedy, Starring Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 14.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Bittersweet story won't appeal to younger teens.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 14–15

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Holidays are stressful, but family members really love each other.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Some fighting between brothers, treated as comedy and leaving black eyes and cut faces.
  • Sex:

    Sexual activity hinted at (woman wakes up in wrong brother's bed); gay couple kisses chastely; parents kiss and snuggle in bed, revealing very briefly the mother's mastectomy scar.
  • Language:

    Minor language ("damn," "s--t").
  • Consumerism:

    Brief shot of Santa/Norelco ad on TV; beer labels visible in bar; an NPR logo marks a character's "liberal" leanings.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Drinking in bar, to point of passing out and forgetting the evening; references to pot-smoking.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Family Stone

Parents need to know that this romantic comedy focuses on family tensions emerging when grown children come home for the Christmas holidays. Characters argue and pout; brothers fight, causing black eyes and cut cheeks. Characters drink at a bar, to the point that one passes out and doesn't remember how she ends up in her fiancé's brother's bed. One character is accused of racism, homophobia, and general "uptightness." While it's mainly comedic, the movie also includes a plot thread where a character is dying of cancer (brief glimpse of her mastectomy scar).

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the family relationships. How do the kids' behaviors resemble their parents'? How do the Stones come to see their presumed open-mindedness as insular and judgmental? How might Meredith's transformation from tense to sociable (here pushed along by a night of drinking), be achieved in a less stereotypical way?

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Parent Reviewer
    I rate this title off for age 16 and give it 1.0
    My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate language
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use
    • Negative message
    • Negative role models

    depressing movie with a political agenda

    I hated this movie so much that it prompted me to write my first review after throwing the movie away. I agree with the others that saw a very liberal agenda being promoted by the movie. The character of Meredith, was a good person trying very hard to be liked and get along with a family who was very mean and unwelcoming to her. The first premise the family had for disliking her was for being rather conservative in dress, uncomfortable and had a nervous habit of clearing her throat. Their dislike for her grew worse after she asked to sleep somewhere else instead of in the same bed with her boyfriend. Things turned really ugly after she voiced her opinion of not understanding the mothers comment of why she would wish for her children to be gay. The liberal bias is further made prominent by how well loved and accepted the gay couple is portrayed throughout the whole movie. It was prominent throughout the entire movie. Even in the ending scene, the family is shown with the new baby of one of the daughters and the adopted baby of the gay couple. The grandfather gleamed when he saw the adopted baby and went to hold him. The scene seemed to portray an extra specialness to the adopted baby of the gay couple. I did not find anything about this movie funny in any way. I thought the entire movie was very depressing as a whole but especially the end. There were also 3 uses of God's name in a blasphemous way. This is definitely not a movie I would want my kids to watch, nor do I think it would even be one they would enjoy.

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Alabama
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    LOVED IT!!

    THis was such a good movie filled with laughter and tears! I've noticed that not many adults like it though. But I think it was very well done.

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    wonderful movie!!!!!!!

  6. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Pennsylvania
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 5.0

  7. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 2.0

  8. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in North Carolina
    I rate this title on for age 17 and give it 2.0

    lost 2 hrs of my life watching this movie

    The movie itself was well acted, but it seemed as if someone was pushing an agenda with this movie. They shoved every minority issue into one relationship, and I think it detracted from the story. The minority issue could have been done so much more differently and better. Definitely won't be watching this movie again.

  9. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 2.0

    A banal holiday movie

    Suffice it to say that this will not become a Christmas classic. The movie is simply not worth seeing. The story is predictable. The family does love each other but overall there's nothing memorable about it.

  10. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    Good Christmas Movie

    This movie was a good Christmas movie for families for kids older than 11.

  11. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 0.0

    I left the movie!!!

    I was very disapointed in this movie. the preview did not show what this movie was really about, which was a liberal gay agenda. The first half of them movie was conditioning for the homesexual movement. It made the two gay partners "special"!! Everyone treated them so "special" like it was a great thing. I looked at the trailer again and I was right, it didn't show one thing about the gay stuff!!!! The rest was just caotic.

  12. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 1.0

    liberal agenda

    This movie is not about what the previews lead you to believe and on top of that, it's not a good movie. It's not developed, the love story stinks, and there is too much going on to actually enjoy the movie or the charactors. It's more liberal propoganda than a movie

  13. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Missouri
    I rate this title off for age 17 and give it 3.0

    It was intertaining but family had no Christian values

    Parts of it I have to admit were touching but I left feeling that the parents were very que sera sera with their kids and there were no bounderies set for them in life. On the other hand the interaction between all of them was very loving.

  14. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in South Carolina
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 3.0

    Good family gathering movie but some unbelievable parts

    A few unbelievable story lines but the overall whole story was really good. The chaotic interaction between the family members is very familiar.

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