A gay-friendly holiday: 20 fascinating facts about modern Christmas classic ‘The Family Stone’
The Family Stone tells the story of the Stonex, a tight-knit, extremely liberal New England brood thrown into chaos when golden child Everett (the dashing Dermot Mulroney) brings home his girlfriend, the tightly wound and politically conservative Meredith (icon Sarah Jessica Parker) for Christmas.
When things go south—Meredith is casually homophobic toward Everett’s deaf, gay brother Thad (Tyrone Giordano) and mom Sybil (Diane Keaton) is dealing with terminal cancer—Meredith calls in her sister, the much more amiable Julie (Claire Danes) for backup.Though the dramedy wasn’t big with the critics, it became a commercial success.
Now, nearly 20 years later, it’s been dubbed a seasonal staple by many, with LGBTQ+ fans praising it for being one of the few holiday films of its time to prominently feature queer characters.With the film surely playing on TV screens across the country this holiday season, read on for 20 fascinating facts about The Family Stone… View Full PostBezucha previously directed Big Eden, a crowd-pleasing 2000 gay romantic comedy.View Full Post“My sister [was] dating someone, and the family didn’t think it was a great match,” the filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly in an oral history.View Full Post“I think it’s having grown up in an academic community,” he told Movie Web in 2006. “I always say it’s not my family but these are my people.”View Full PostGiordano has worked extensively in deaf theater—including Big River and Pippin—and attended Gallaudet University, where he currently teaches.View Full PostHe appeared in the 2005 rom-com A Lot Like Love, sharing the screen with Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, and out actor Kal Penn.View Full PostThe production hired Jack Jason, deaf icon Marlee Matlin’s producing partner, as a consultant.
View Full Post“Diane was comfortable getting into it,” Giordano told EW. Keaton had learned ASL from a previous film.View Full Post“I was the worst.
