56
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversKeaton, a sorceress at blending humor and heartbreak, honors the film with a grace that makes it stick in the memory.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumParker has a great time being the anti–Carrie Bradshaw while Keaton-as-matriarch is a particular joy -- funny, beautiful, elegant, touching, and at ease with a familiar, get-out-your-hankies holiday subplot.
- 70Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyAs ridiculous, as mawkish and schizophrenic as The Family Stone is, it's also surprisingly endearing.
- 60EmpireEmpireAlthough in danger of being unable to decide what kind of film it wants to be, a well-written script and well-judged performances make this a family outing worth taking.
- 50NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenLurching uncertainly from slapstick to tears, The Family Stone works hard to warm the cockles of our hearts. The cast is attractive. The sentiments are commendable. But the love Bezucha wants us to feel for the family couldn't possibly compete with the love they already feel for themselves.
- 50VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangKeaton embodies the formidable Stone matriarch with an offhand sense of humor that cuts like a knife.
- 50L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorA potentially interesting tale flailing haplessly in the quicksand of holiday-movie formula.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenSpends too much time on unconvincing romantic-comedy contrivances to be consistently engaging. Throughout the uneven film and its mixed bag of performances, the compelling point of focus is Diane Keaton's smart, funny, spot-on natural portrait of the formidable Stone matriarch.
- 40Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimIt's hard to fathom why anyone would voluntarily endure a holiday family reunion movie -- a genre devised solely to demonstrate how grotesque and how heartwarming families can be--when actual holiday family reunions already exist for those very reasons.
- 40The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasMost of it falls on Bezucha, not just for devising these monstrously cruel characters, but for putting them in situations that are far too serious to be resolved by Christmas morning. When the melodrama gets too intense, the film collapses in slapstick.