On the subject of Christmas movies, there are the previous classics — It’s A Fantastic Life, A Christmas Carol — after which there are the new classics, like Residence Alone and Elf. Nestled into the latter class is the 2005 dramedy The Family Stone. It’s acquired all of the makings of a film worthy of your annual vacation rotation: a sprawling but in some way additionally cozy New England home, a large close-knit household, an more and more awkward Christmas go to, and the stunning late Diane Keaton anchoring all of it as Sybil Stone, the fiercely loving (if not somewhat formidable) matriarch.
Does the plot have some critical holes? Certain. Will we care? By no means. We are able to’t get sufficient of the Stone household, and it seems to be like there could also be much more of their dysfunctional enjoyable to get pleasure from sooner or later — practically 20 years later, author and director Thomas Bezucha says he’s formally engaged on a follow-up that would convey the Stones again collectively.
May this actually be occurring? Is it a Christmas miracle? Right here’s what you’ll want to know.
What did Bezucha say a couple of sequel?
In a recent interview with CNN, Bezucha shared that he’s been quietly shaping the story for some time now. His want to complete the script, he says, gained much more poignancy within the mild of Keaton’s recent passing on the age of 79.
“I’ve been haunted by the lack of Sybil for months now whereas I labored on it, and so this was a blow on a young bruise already. Mentally, I’ve been spending time in that home the place I’ve been lacking her for some time already,” he defined.
That heartbreak, he mentioned, has solely deepened his want to “honor her much more” and “do a superb job by the remainder of the solid” in making a follow-up.
Has anybody from the unique solid signed on but?
In keeping with Bezucha, he acquired “unanimously optimistic responses” when he reached out to the solid to gauge curiosity. Nonetheless, nobody has “formally signed on,” which is smart contemplating the movie hasn’t even been greenlit but by Disney (who acquired twentieth Century Fox, the movie’s unique distributor, in 2019).
Bezucha is obvious about one factor, although: He wouldn’t wish to transfer ahead with out the solid that began the Stone household journey. “I’m not within the Brady household reunion with out the unique Jan.”
In the event you want a refresher on the 2005 movie, Dermot Mulroney performs Everett Stone, who’s bringing dwelling his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), to fulfill his household. Luke Wilson and Tyrone Giordano play Everett’s brothers, Ben and Thad, whereas Rachel McAdams and Elizabeth Reaser spherical out the Stone household as sisters Amy and Susannah. Craig T. Nelson stars as Kelly, Sybil’s husband and the household patriarch. Claire Danes has a really temporary however memorable flip as Meredith’s sister Julie, and Brian J. White performs dream brother-in-law Patrick.
What would a sequel be about?
Effectively, the Stone household, clearly… however aside from that, Bezucha is staying mum. Because the film hasn’t formally been sanctioned by the studio but, it may very well be a scorching minute earlier than we hear something in regards to the plot, manufacturing timeline, or casting developments.
Nonetheless, that received’t cease followers from freaking out. Enthusiasm in regards to the challenge has already kicked into overdrive, and who can blame anybody? The film is peak early-aughts vacation consolation.
It feels protected to imagine the film will lovingly revisit Sybil and her legacy throughout the household. Perhaps Meredith and Ben acquired married. Or Everett and Julie did. Perhaps all of them have children of their very own, and the sequel reveals how they’re attempting to maintain Sybil’s vacation traditions alive — and realizing, in that pursuit, simply how a lot magic their mother dropped at the desk.
The Household Stone is at present streaming on Hulu and Disney+, and that seems like the proper excuse for a rewatch whereas we wait to see whether or not the household reunion of the last decade comes collectively.
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