Christmas is a time families gather together to spend time with one another making memories to be recalled for years to come. It can be the most wonderful or miserable time of any person’s year, and often is both.

The stress of the holidays can be greatly exaggerated when a family member brings home a significant other to meet the family for the first time. Will the girlfriend like the family? Will the family like the girlfriend? And what do you do if they don’t get along? This is the premise of the new holiday film “The Family Stone.”

When Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings his girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) home to meet the Stone family during their annual Christmas celebration, it is clear, even before she steps in the door, that the Stones and Meredith won’t exactly hit it off. Meredith is an uptight New Yorker. From her tight bun and perfectly starched pencil skirts to her clenched jaw and stiff, awkward handshake, Meredith could not be more different from the large Stone family, who epitomize the easygoing, free-love, hippie mentality. When Meredith hits her breaking point, she checks into a local inn and calls in reinforcements — her sister Julie (Claire Danes).

Trailers for “The Family Stone” led me to believe that it was a comedy with a few elements of drama, but after seeing it I have to say that it would better be described as a very funny drama. I wasn’t disappointed by it, though, just surprised.

In many ways it reminded me of “Meet the Parents.” Meredith, much like Ben Stiller’s character, is brought home to meet the family her boyfriend is so close to. Unfortunately, rather than making a good first impression, she manages to make one mistake after the next. Both movies have memorable lines and frequent laugh-out-loud moments, but, unlike Stiller’s “Meet the Parents” role, Meredith doesn’t stand by and watch the chaos unfold without explaining herself. Meredith does the unthinkable; she lets the family know what she really thinks of them. I loved it!

Meredith and the Stones quickly get past their initial strained efforts of polite conversation and reveal their true feelings for one another. This places Everett in an awkward position, to say the least.

With a cast like this it would be hard to go wrong. Diane Keaton stars as the almost painfully blunt Sybil Stone in her first film since “Something’s Gotta Give.” Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams round out this all-star cast.

Writer/director Thomas Bezucha’s film presents caricatures of a wide range of personality types. The issues he deals with are far ranging and are also a bit exaggerated, but that’s part of what I enjoyed about this film.

Will Meredith learn to loosen up, will the family learn to accept her for who she is, and is Meredith even the real issue? Find out answers to these questions for yourself. Check out “The Family Stone” this holiday season. You may laugh so hard you cry or you may just cry, either way make sure you have a few tissues handy.

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