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for the Holidays - A Family Stone Review
Writer/director Thomas Bezucha has come seemingly
out of nowhere with this smart and insightful flick, which is just
mean enough not to be sappy, and just ardent enough not to be bitter
-- like real life, it's a jumble of the kind of delicious emotional
messes that remind you that you're alive. But his biggest coup, after
his script, is his cast, which is extraordinary -- movies like this
one only work when the cast is fabulous, and this may be the best ensemble
of the year, a combination of veterans given the chance to stretch
into more complicated roles than they're often allowed -- including
Mulroney and Craig T. Nelson (The Incredibles, Wag the Dog) as the
Stone dad, Kelly -- and relative newcomers who shine -- including Tyrone
Giordano as Thad Stone and Brian White as his husband, Patrick -- and
two exceptionally talented young actresses, one of whom, Claire Danes
(Stage Beauty, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), has been indispensible
for years, and the other of whom, Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, Wedding
Crashers), has only this year in a handful of terrific performances,
proven herself so. (They play, respectively, Meredith's sister, Julie,
who shows up to lend some moral support, and Stone baby Amy.)
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MaryAnn Johanson
12.15.05
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