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The Family Stone: (Michael Giacchino) The term
"dramedy" was invented precisely to describe movies like 2005's
The
Family Stone, an ensemble cast endeavor taking family get-togethers
at the holidays to disastrous and redemptive ends. Like many other
movies that create their humor by forcing people of disparate
personalities into one room, this one has the normal array of spats,
misunderstandings, crying, and forgiveness, all in a package sure to
make the average man wince. In this case, Sarah Jessica Parker plays a
successful New York City businesswoman (fathom that...) who is brought
to the Connecticut family estate of her boyfriend for the obligatory
"meet the parents" scenario at the holidays. He intends to propose
marriage to her, but all goes afoul when other men and women enter the
equation and make for one massive heterosexual disaster of confusion.
People end up running around the house in a panic, insulting each other
at the dinner table, unsure about who has slept with whom, and arguing
the usual debates about socio-political topics that seem to tickle
Hollywood filmmakers. There's snow and Christmas cheer, too, and with a
more than decent cast of familiar names,
The Family Stone managed
to earn mixed reviews, a substantial financial haul worldwide, and
awards recognition for Parker. Director Thomas Bezucha saw the original
score for his film as an integral part of its festive mood, aiding in a
soundtrack destined to be littered with half a dozen holiday standards
from classic pop-culture voices. He had been immensely impressed with
the work of composer Michael Giacchino for
The Incredibles and
hired him with certainty for
The Family Stone. Giacchino had not
yet achieved the status he would enjoy later in the decade after his
success in the animated realm. In fact, in 2005, he was still relatively
fresh to the realm of feature films, mainly known for his video game and
television work. Romantic comedies and light drama on this platform were
new challenges for the composer, and he responded with a workmanlike
effort that pushes all the right buttons when needed while taking few
stylistic chances. His task was to deliver music that balances the
haywire comedic chasing with the respectful family drama, all the while
tapping into some of the wholesome instrumentation expected for the
snowy setting. In many ways,
The Family Stone was a trial run for
a collaboration that continued with
Monte Carlo in 2011, the
latter featuring far more pizzazz and less intrinsic accessibility for
casual appreciation on album.
While one could say that Giacchino nailed the demeanor
of
The Family Stone, it's interesting to note that he approached
the story from the perspective of classicism rather than pop-culture
romance. It would have been easy to imagine Hans Zimmer and his
entourage providing an equally sappy but somewhat contemporary tone for
the same project. Giacchino instead highlights his work with a spritely
waltz representing the perky, illustrious nature of the family and its
home. Two versions of this main theme exist on the album release, both
occasionally reminding of something Elmer Bernstein would have written
during the height of his comedy period in the early 1980's. This tone
bleeds into the score proper at times (as in "Millie's Famous Brownies,"
"They're Here," and "Hi"), but the majority of
The Family Stone
is far more subdued. Sparsely light cuteness abounds in plucky rhythms
and whimsical string and woodwind lines that don't really accomplish any
narrative development above basic mood setting. As the score progresses,
it loses the slight slapstick nature inherent in the waltz of the main
theme and transforms into a disappointingly standard collection of
ambient, tonal expressions of easy drama for the orchestra's lighter
elements. In "Dawn," this transformation becomes complete, with only a
few outward comedic cues thereafter to break the sometimes nearly
inaudible environment. The lengthy "It's Snowing" cue swells to provide
a touch of silver screen magic, confirmed by flute and piano in "A Very
Good Tree." The album provides a summary of this airy and palatable
development of the score's dramatic sub-theme in "The Family Stone
(Suite)," concluding with a charming full ensemble expression of this
dainty but pretty idea. On the whole, Giacchino's music is inoffensive
at every moment but difficult to appreciate due to its total anonymity.
Despite its faults, at least
Monte Carlo would be catchier.
Instead,
The Family Stone doesn't really exude much convincing
holiday spirit (you'll have a hard time hearing sleigh bells or anything
else of such associations), and the lighter instruments tend to get lost
in a dull mix. Giacchino scores recorded and mixed by Dan Wallin have a
tendency to sound extremely muted and distant, a frightfully dry and
flat ambience making the music sound as though it is playing from a
closet. This form of presentation nearly ruins
The Family Stone
by draining all the life out of a score that was already conservatively
rendered on paper. There is simply no vivacity to this music, whether in
composition, performance, or recording, and it's a good thing that the
Christmas carols weren't included on the album, for they would have
completely overshadowed this effectively pretty but unmemorable score.
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| Bias Check: | For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.37 (in 21 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 12,367 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a list of performers and a note from the director about
the score and film.
