Fridae

What is it about Sarah Jessica Parker that keeps dykes, gay men and trannies watching? Well, apart from her unconventional looks and spunky personality (reminiscent of other gay icons like Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler) and her impeccable fashion sense, she really is a good comic actress. Her timing is sharp as hell, and she can combine goofiness and pathos to devastating effect.

Many have wondered what SJP was going to do after the final season of Sex & The City. They need wonder no more: She is now starring in a film written and directed by a gay man. Which is the right step, we say! After all, Sex & The City was a show created by a gay man (Darren Star) because only queers can dream up the ultra-fabulous, ultra-sordid lifestyle that these Manhattan-ite women led.

And now in The Family Stone, gay writer-director Thomas Bezucha has created a complex comic role that requires an actress to transform herself from being a "prissy career bitch" to "loveable girl-next-door" all within the space of 100 minutes. It's a nimble contortionist act that can only be performed by the goddess we know as Sarah Jessica Parker. And indeed, her turn is so convincing that the Golden Globes has honored her with a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical.

At the start of The Family Stone, SJP is the chic and high-strung New Yorker who's dating the craggily-handsome Dermot Mulroney. Dermot has decided to take SJP to meet his family for Christmas. But his family is not what she expects. They're a liberal-minded, bohemian bunch who laugh at and needle each other mercilessly. Now SJP is not used to that. This woman isn't just anal-retentive - she has five flagpoles up her butt.

One of the Dermot's brothers, Tyrone Giordano, is gay and deaf. He is also married to his black partner (Brian White) and they plan to adopt a kid. So at dinnertime, the snooty SJP makes the unforgivable mistake of asking the gay couple what sort of kid they want to adopt - a black kid or a white kid. Then, she makes an even bigger mistake of asking the matriarch of the family, Diane Keaton, if she would have preferred to have a "normal" son instead of gay one.

What follows is a heart-rending reaction from Diane who defends her gay son to the last tear, creating one of the most gay-affirming moments I've ever seen in a mainstream movie. Writer-director Thomas Bezucha may not have intended to make a gay film with The Family Stone - the film explores a dozen other plots and themes - but it's quite obvious to the viewer which theme is closest to his heart.

Humiliated at the dinner table, SJP runs off and hides in her room. She calls her sister up (the luminous Claire Danes) to rescue her from this disastrous visit. Claire soon arrives at the Stone's residence and unwittingly sets in motion a series of romantic complications. Meanwhile, Diane has a secret to tell the family, her son Luke Wilson has a secret crush and her daughter Rachel McAdams has a not-so-secret past. Themes like love, compassion, hope and sacrifice start chiming in.

The Family Stone's plot is overstuffed alright, but the film is no turkey. What holds the improbable events together are the solid ensemble cast, in which the actresses easily outshine the actors. SJP is in very fine form, while Diane is as entrancing a presence as ever. Claire has never looked better, while the lava-hot Rachel McAdams continues to warm the loins of legions of dykes and bisexuals.

The actors Dermot, Luke, Tyrone, Brian and Craig T. Nelson (who plays the father) pale in comparison to these ravishing, vivacious women. Although it might just be the case that writer-director Thomas is treading the path of many gay filmmakers before him (like George Cukor, Yasujiro Ozu and Pedro Almodovar) by being a better director of women than men.

In an interview with gay publication The Advocate, SJP said that she loves working with gay directors because she shares a connection with them that "doesn't have to be verbalized all day long", adding that "guys dating men tend to be more comfortable being demonstrative". She speaks like a true fag hag - and that's why we love her so.