Leading man Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) had the fantastic idea of bringing his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), whom he wished to marry, home for Christmas. It was a good idea, but he forgot that Meredith’s chaotic lifestyle of long phone conversations, expensive shoes and bossiness would clash with his family’s laid-back principles. As hard as she tried, Meredith could not seem to get along with anyone in her boyfriend’s family, so she forced her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to keep her company, hoping with Amy’s help the Stones would welcome her as an extension of their own, to no avail. Casting Sarah Jessica Parker as the shoe-obsessed Meredith was a good idea, judging by the popularity of Sex and the City, where she starred as newspaper advice columnist Carrie Bradshaw. It is not a coincidence that both Carrie and Meredith shared a shopping fetish and residence in New York City.
Though Everett and Meredith tried to make their lifestyle differences bring them closer together, they became argumentative and angry at one another as the story progressed. Everett’s brother Ben’s (Luke Wilson) feelings for Meredith did nothing to help. Meanwhile, Julie and Everett pulled off the couple appearance quite well.
I expected the Stones to get along better with each other. They did not look much like a kind, considerate family, all going against Meredith instead of trying to befriend her. Apparently, the holiday season did not catch on with them. However, Amy warmed up to both Meredith and her long-lost boyfriend Brad Stevenson (Paul Schneider), who wooed Amy towards the end of the movie. Her teen angst was similar to that of a young Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn DiScala) from The Sopranos, another late and great HBO TV series.
This movie also dragged on for quite some time. That was apparent from the opening credits, set up in greeting card style, which took forever to finish, though they looked fantastic at the beginning until the excitement wore off.
I would recommend waiting to rent this movie upon its release. It was not worth paying to see in the cinema. Fans of Sarah Jessica Parker would probably prefer watching episodes of Sex and the City on TBS. Though disappointing, this movie was not terrible. There were a couple truly funny parts, such as when Meredith escaped from the present opening extravaganza to bake Christmas breakfast, but was hit by a door, dropping the food all over both her and the floor. The ending was refreshing, seeing a flash-forward, a year from when the original story took place. Patrick Thomas (Brian J. White) and Everett’s brother Thad Stone (Tyrone Giordano), the gay couple who was trying to adopt a child, had their son in tow. Meanwhile, Susannah Stone Trousdale (Elizabeth Reaser), sister of Everett and mother of the young Elizabeth Trousdale (Savannah Stehlin) had also given birth. It was nice to see the whole family together again; this time they were not fighting.
Written by: SL