The Family Stone review: A Christmas romcom that never quite warms up

Every December we work through a stack of Christmas romcoms as a family, and The Family Stone is the one that comes up on almost every list. So we finally watched it as a family, with our teenage daughter on the sofa too. Honestly, none of us found it all that good. It has its moments and a nice ending, but it is slow, the characters rarely act in a way you believe, and the warm Christmas romance we were hoping for never quite turned up. That is a 3 out of 5 from us.

The story in one line

Everett Stone brings his girlfriend, Meredith Morton, home for Christmas to meet his large, loud family in New England. Meredith is a reserved, buttoned-up New Yorker, and the Stones make it clear almost immediately that they do not like her. When things go badly, she calls her younger sister Julie for support, and the holiday spirals from there, while a family secret sits underneath everything.

On paper it is a good Christmas setup: a crowded house, a girlfriend under pressure and a family with opinions. It is the kind of story that should give you both laughs and the cozy, everything-will-be-fine feeling that December films are for.

The cast is the best thing about it

The cast is the reason the film is on everyone’s list. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Meredith, and Dermot Mulroney plays Everett, the eldest son. Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson play his parents, Sybil and Kelly Stone. Luke Wilson is his brother Ben, Rachel McAdams his sister Amy, and Tyrone Giordano and Elizabeth Reaser complete the siblings as Thad and Susannah. Claire Danes arrives as Meredith’s sister Julie, and Brian J. White plays Thad’s partner, Patrick.

That is a lot of well-known faces for one house, and it is one of the reasons we expected more. If you have seen The Proposal, you will recognize Craig T. Nelson, who plays the father of the family there as well.

Too slow for a romcom

Our biggest problem was the pace. The Family Stone takes a long time to get anywhere, and it rarely builds the momentum a romantic comedy lives on. For a film of a little under two hours, it felt long on our sofa.

That matters more in this genre than in others. A Christmas romcom does not need a complicated plot, but it does need to move: a meeting, a complication, a turn, a happy end. Here the complications pile up, but the story itself barely moves forward for long stretches.

Characters who are hard to believe

The second problem was the characters. The people in this film rarely act in a way that feels believable. Again and again we found ourselves wondering why someone would behave like that, and when the film asks you to go along with its turns, it has not done the work to make you believe them.

That made it hard for us to care. A family comedy can push its characters to extremes, but you need to recognize something of real people in them, and we mostly did not.

The Christmas mood never arrives

What we missed most was the feeling. We put on Christmas romcoms for one reason: that warm, romantic, snow-on-the-windows mood that makes December evenings special. The Family Stone has the setting, a decorated house and the family gathered for the holidays, but that beautiful romantic Christmas atmosphere you hope for never really came through for us. It is more of a family drama with jokes than a cozy Christmas romance.

The ending is the best part

The ending is predictable, but it is nice, and for a moment it gives you exactly the feeling we had been waiting for all evening: the moment when everything works out. That short stretch is the closest the film comes to the Christmas romcom it could have been, and it means the evening ended on a good note. It is just a shame it takes so long to get there.

The people behind the film

Thomas Bezucha wrote and directed The Family Stone. Michael London produced, Jonathan Brown was the director of photography, Jeffrey Ford edited, and Michael Giacchino wrote the music.

20th Century Fox released it in the US on December 16, 2005, and it runs 104 minutes. It is rated PG-13. The DVD followed on May 2, 2006.

Release and box office

The Family Stone was a clear commercial success. According to The Numbers, it cost about $18 million to make and opened with about $12.5 million in its first weekend. It went on to earn about $60 million in the US and Canada and about $92 million worldwide, roughly five times its budget. That success is one reason it has become a regular on Christmas lists ever since.

Is it a good family movie night?

For a family with teenagers, it works. It is rated PG-13, and we watched it with our daughter without any problem. Younger children will simply be bored: it is a slow, talky film about adults and their relationships.

• Best age: teenagers and up.
• Mood: a quiet December evening when you do not need the film to be the highlight.
• Runtime: 104 minutes, which feels longer because of the pace.
• Where to watch: in the US it streams on Hulu from November 1, 2026.
• Better Christmas romance: our review of The Holiday is the one we would put on first.
• Christmas with the younger kids: our Christmas movie collection is the family list.

Why it is a 3

The Family Stone is not a bad film, and we would not tell anyone to avoid it. You can watch it. It has a big cast, a nice ending and a real Christmas setting. But it is slow, its characters are hard to believe, and it never gave us the romantic Christmas mood we watch these films for. There are simply better Christmas romcoms, and that is what a 3 out of 5 is meant to say.

Want to fill out the December watchlist? Prime Video’s 30-day free trial is an easy way to try a big catalog at home. Catalogs change, so check availability before you sign up.

Is The Family Stone worth watching?

It is watchable, but it did not win us over. The cast is big and the ending is nice, but the film is slow, the characters rarely act believably and the cozy Christmas romance never quite arrives. We rate it 3 out of 5: fine for a family evening, but there are better Christmas romcoms.

Is The Family Stone a Christmas movie?

Yes. The whole story takes place over a family Christmas at the Stones’ home in New England.

Is The Family Stone OK for kids?

It is rated PG-13. We watched it with our teenage daughter, and it works as a family evening with teenagers. Younger children will mostly be bored, because it is a slow, talky film about adults.

Who is in the cast of The Family Stone?

Sarah Jessica Parker plays Meredith Morton, Dermot Mulroney plays her boyfriend Everett Stone, Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson play his parents Sybil and Kelly, and Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes, Tyrone Giordano and Elizabeth Reaser complete the family and its guests.

Who directed The Family Stone?

Thomas Bezucha wrote and directed it. Michael Giacchino composed the music.

How long is The Family Stone?

104 minutes, so a little under two hours. It can feel longer, because the pace is slow.

Was The Family Stone a box office success?

Yes. It was made for about 18 million dollars and earned about 60 million dollars in the US and Canada and about 92 million dollars worldwide.

Where can I watch The Family Stone?

In the US it streams on Hulu from November 1, 2026, and it is available on DVD. Streaming catalogs change, so check before the evening starts.