Christmas comedy about the gathering of a clan, and allies, in snowy New England at the holiday. The core family, name of Stone, numbers seven, so a lot is afoot: terminal cancer, a pregnancy, a gay-couple adoption (minorities within the minority: the couple is interracial and one-half hearing impaired), an old flame, a guttering flame, two new flames. It all sorts itself out, in a next-Christmas coda, with no sticky residue. The cast, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Reaser, Ty Giordano, Diane Keaton, and Craig T. Nelson, could use any help they can get, but what they get from the bilious photography is skin the complexion of uncooked chicken. Written and directed by Thomas Bezucha. (2005) — Duncan Shepherd
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