I took my wife to see "The Family Stone" last night - on balance, it was an ok movie. Here's the thing though - the first 40 minutes or so were just horrible. Bad enough that I walked out at one point - and nearly didn't come back. It was the family dinner scene - if you see the movie, you'll recognize it (mind you, I simply don't like depictions of deeply embarrassing family moments - it's the main reason I hate most sitcoms, and always have).

Anyway, the movie from that point forward was much better - and I think it had a lot to do with the changed focus. Early on, there was a lot of time spent on the mother (played by Diane Keaton). I didn't buy her dialog, and her character came off being incredibly unsympathetic - I classified her right with the grandmother on "The Ref", which I'm sure is not the place the writers intended. Once the movie shifted away from her, it got better.

I guess it's an ok date movie - especially if sitcoms don't drive you bats. That's my issue though :)