I thought The Family Stone was going to be a lighthearted comedy, just perfect after having been on my feet all day entertaining at our annual family Christmas gathering. But, alas it was neither bright nor humorous, with the exception of a few scenes; in fact, I cried on more than one occasion. There are some uplifting moments, but they are all slightly cloaked in the underlying truth of the story, which is heartbreaking.

Everett Stone (Dermot) comes home for Christmas with his up-tight girlfriend Meredith (Sarah). The latter immediately and continuously rubs various family members in a bad way and finally calls in her sister Julie (Claire) for reinforcement. It just all seems a bit much for Meredith to handle – Everett’s brother Thad (Ty), the deaf homosexual is planning on adopting a child with his African-American lover; sister Amy (Rachel) loathes Meredith and criticizes everything she does; mom Sybil (Diane) is afraid that Everett is going to ask for her mother's ring for his unlikable mate; and brother Ben (Luke) is not shy about sharing his attraction to Meredith.  And guess who feels an instantaneous attraction to Julie? You can guess.

As the family tries not to deal with the real issue, tensions flair and all the truth begins to bubble to the surface. There is a lot going on and at times you just might be crying and laughing simultaneously.