A thoroughly enjoyable film set over three days before Christmas. Diane Keaton is the mother of five adult offspring - they all meet, with their various partners and one precocious daughter at the parental home. Family dynamics are at play as one of the sons has a new and rather tactless girlfriend whom one of his sisters has previously met, and dislikes intensely. There's a lot of humour, and a very poignant thread too.

Some significant issues are lightly touched upon, and it was good to see the family using sign language naturally (one of the brothers is deaf). There's a cleverly choreographed kitchen disaster that verges on slapstick but was so well done that although I cringed the first time I saw it, I found it quite amusing the second time.

Rated 12 which seems right to me. Highly recommended for adults or older teens looking for a character-based light Christmas romantic comedy.

Longer review here; https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-family-stone.html ( )

comedy ( )