If that sounds positive then that's not how intended for it to seem. First, I'm glad I didn't buy the DVD. Seeing the cast, I was tempted to get it but thought perhaps I should watch it first. This is one bad movie. Yes, it has the usual clichés and a lot of it resemble 'Meet the Parents' and it sometimes tries to be 'The Royal Tenenbaums' but it has an unusual twist which only makes the film far worse. Anyway, starting with the good things is that it 'looks' polished and has a good cast. That's it.
The bad? The writing. The characters are not likable, half-baked and one-dimensional, neither the relationships between the characters nor the characters themselves are well developed. I mean Everett was extremely quick to fall in love with his girlfriend's sister (what the hell? love at first sight? and that too while he was still dating AND about to propose to Meredith). Then in another scene Meredith too realizes after a couple of shots that she's free spirited (and becomes so immediately). Meredith's sister Julie too doesn't seem to care much of what her sister is going through and the two get together right after her sister breaks up with him. Everett's brother Ben too, in one glance realizes that Meredith is the woman for him. This whole switching with partner's sibling was icky to say the least. The whole family seem to be against Meredith when they have never met her before, they hardly give her a chance and they behave extremely rude to her. even though in the beginning she's hard to like, Meredith later on does make some effort. Yet, they immediately like her sister Sarah. How ridiculous! Oh there's too many wrong with this film and I think I've listed enough.
At the same time the film tries to juggle too many themes. It tries to touch them lightly but only make it more clichéd. I mean, there's a gay deaf brother, a more laid back brother, a bitchy sister and a normal sister, a sick mother and a father trying to hold it all together. It all becomes a mess during that one dinner table scene when Meredith brings up the issue of raising homosexual children being a challenge and the whole family, including her boyfriend (who's supposed to know her) treat her in an unbelievably hostile manner) and when she leaves the room all upset, her boyfriend just sits there while the brother rushes out to comfort her. Some viewers have mentioned that the family was under a lot of stress due to the mother's breast cancer which is why they projected all the negativity towards Meredith. Yet, they are the perfect host to Sarah. Here, I go again pointing out the flaws.
Anyway, the cast is good and I watched the movie mainly because of the cast. However, with such poorly written roles (on top of that none of the characters have any likable trait), it is hard for the characters to really impress. The Stones really seemed like a family thanks to the talented actors, all of whom share a good chemistry: Craig T. Nelson as the father, Rachel McAdams as the mean sister, Tyrone Giordano as the calm brother, Luke Wilson as the mellow one, Dermot Mulroney as the older brother, Elizabeth Reaser as the married pregnant sister and Diane Keaton as the loving sick mother. Claire Danes's Sarah Morton looks forced and sadly she can't do much with the horrible part. Sarah Jessica Parker shows shades of her famous Carrie Bradshaw persona but she's quite okay as the uptight girlfriend.
Anyway, I'm done with analyzing this horror. It's sad to see such a great cast wasted on an atrocious film. I wonder how the makers got them to do this.
The bad? The writing. The characters are not likable, half-baked and one-dimensional, neither the relationships between the characters nor the characters themselves are well developed. I mean Everett was extremely quick to fall in love with his girlfriend's sister (what the hell? love at first sight? and that too while he was still dating AND about to propose to Meredith). Then in another scene Meredith too realizes after a couple of shots that she's free spirited (and becomes so immediately). Meredith's sister Julie too doesn't seem to care much of what her sister is going through and the two get together right after her sister breaks up with him. Everett's brother Ben too, in one glance realizes that Meredith is the woman for him. This whole switching with partner's sibling was icky to say the least. The whole family seem to be against Meredith when they have never met her before, they hardly give her a chance and they behave extremely rude to her. even though in the beginning she's hard to like, Meredith later on does make some effort. Yet, they immediately like her sister Sarah. How ridiculous! Oh there's too many wrong with this film and I think I've listed enough.
At the same time the film tries to juggle too many themes. It tries to touch them lightly but only make it more clichéd. I mean, there's a gay deaf brother, a more laid back brother, a bitchy sister and a normal sister, a sick mother and a father trying to hold it all together. It all becomes a mess during that one dinner table scene when Meredith brings up the issue of raising homosexual children being a challenge and the whole family, including her boyfriend (who's supposed to know her) treat her in an unbelievably hostile manner) and when she leaves the room all upset, her boyfriend just sits there while the brother rushes out to comfort her. Some viewers have mentioned that the family was under a lot of stress due to the mother's breast cancer which is why they projected all the negativity towards Meredith. Yet, they are the perfect host to Sarah. Here, I go again pointing out the flaws.
Anyway, the cast is good and I watched the movie mainly because of the cast. However, with such poorly written roles (on top of that none of the characters have any likable trait), it is hard for the characters to really impress. The Stones really seemed like a family thanks to the talented actors, all of whom share a good chemistry: Craig T. Nelson as the father, Rachel McAdams as the mean sister, Tyrone Giordano as the calm brother, Luke Wilson as the mellow one, Dermot Mulroney as the older brother, Elizabeth Reaser as the married pregnant sister and Diane Keaton as the loving sick mother. Claire Danes's Sarah Morton looks forced and sadly she can't do much with the horrible part. Sarah Jessica Parker shows shades of her famous Carrie Bradshaw persona but she's quite okay as the uptight girlfriend.
Anyway, I'm done with analyzing this horror. It's sad to see such a great cast wasted on an atrocious film. I wonder how the makers got them to do this.