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Director Chris Columbus, who is adept at showing familial chaos (he directed Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone) with a sanitized minimum of lingering emotional damage, actually manages to dig a trifle deeper than usual in exploring the jealousy and hurt that occur when the baton is passed between a birth mom and the younger wife who steps into her shoes. Stepmom fortunately manages to touch on that chord--showing how an ambitious woman might feel hampered by the responsibility of children just because she's fallen in love with their dad--as well as the haunting grief that it causes their birth mom. It's an issue that haunts millions of second wives everywhere, and while Roberts conveys the confusion of being taken for granted in the melee that follows, it's Sarandon who walks off with the film. She's relentless in her fury, and everyone else in the film--the generally excellent Harris included--is sideswiped. It's just a shame that Hollywood once again wimps out in the end, solving the problem by giving Sarandon a terminal illness. Instead of allowing Jackie and Isabel's relationship to unfold on something less than a high note, the movie has to quell its best thing with a false payoff because it doesn't know what to do with real life. --Paula Nechak
| ACTORS: | Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris |
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Chris Columbus |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 25 December, 1998 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Columbia/Tristar Studios |
| MPAA RATING: | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| FEATURES: | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby |
| TYPE: | Feature Film-drama |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 043396028524 |
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Customer Reviews of Stepmom
THE BEST MOVIE EVER! I recently bought this fablous movie. Even though I have now watched it five times, every time I start crying! It's a very touching movie that really makes you stop and think about life, and how wonderful it is! Susan Sarandon really seems like the charater she portrays (Jackie Harrison the mother of 2 children). She is diagnosed with cancer just as her ex-husband gets engaged. She fears that the children's new stepmom will take her place after she passes away, yet the stepmom (Julia Roberts as Isabelle) is afraid that she will never be able to make the kids accept her. The two of them become friends at the end. The song "Ain't no mountain high enough" really portrays the meaning and moral of the whole picture. This fantastic movie will make you laugh and cry at the same time! Take my advice and see it! I wish I could rate it higher than 5 stars because it deserves at least 10!
Focuses on family and children.
Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon light up the screen in "Stepmom," a heartwarming and emotionally involving comedy/drama which tells the story of two women, one divorced, the other married to her ex-husband, and the hurdles they must jump in order to find a common ground of understanding. The movie has it laughs, tears, and an upbeat attitude that keeps going throughout, telling its story in an appealing fashion with the help of its brilliant cast and director Chris Columbus. You can enjoy this movie for everything it has to offer and feel satisfied in the end with how you spent your time; I did.
Jackie and Luke are divorced, which is emotionally taxing on their two children, Anna and Ben, Anna refusing to accept the fact that her parents are never getting back together again. Ben is too young to understand much of what is going on; he merely aides Anna in making Luke's girlfriend, Isabel, completely miserable. This includes hounding her for unwashed laundry, putting down her lunches, and just about anything they can to make it look like they have been treated with less care than they would under their mother. The movie's setup of these relationships between different characters is well-done, keeping its focus on the children's actions and their feelings on the situations they are put into.
As most ex-wives will do, Jackie is condescending of Isabel, looking down on her as a self-centered woman who cares more for her work and personal life than for the children under her care. They have many sparring sessions and heated arguments, but it's clear that they cannot argue forever, and as the children begin to warm to Isabel, so does the friendship between Jackie and Isabel begin to form. Soon, they are helping each other through tough times, trading tips on caring for the children, but still maintaining that small spark of conflict which will surface time and again as Jackie realizes her children are no longer solely under her influence.
The movie deals with a lot of real-to-life family issues that will hit home with most viewers and is sure to strike an emotional chord in audiences everywhere. One of those issues is the fact that a divorce is more about how to deal with the children than about getting on with life. The movie does not take away the focus from the childrens' feelings towards their situation. At one point, Anna stands up and shouts, "You didn't ask me if I wanted a new mother!" The story is still about the feud between Jackie and Isabel, but this feud centers around what each of them feels is best for the children, keeping with the fact that in a divorce, they are the ones who are most affected.
Actors Jena Malone and Liam Aiken, Anna and Ben, do a terrific job in bringing out all of that emotion and feeling in their characters. Aiken's character is not required to be as emotional as Malone's: he is only eight years old in the movie, and does not clearly understand what his parents are going through. He is merely along for the ride, going with what his parents say and what his sister wants, and Aiken brings all of that childhood innocence out perfectly and with believability. Malone must provide a much more involved role: her character is older, and lashes out against her father for leaving his mother and preparing to be with a woman half his age. Malone is full of tears, anger, and laughs, and her performance is heartwrenching and convincing.
Another issue is embedded in the relationship between Jackie and Isabel. Jackie has the maternal instinct where Isabel is trying her best, and the story is intensified emotionally by the clashes in how they feel the children should be raised. When Jackie realizes that Isabel is going to be a permanent part of her children's lives, she also comes to the realization that she cannot keep arguing with her about how to raise the children. As they come to an understanding of one another, it's intriguing to watch the two actresses interact onscreen.
Susan Sarandon is plays Jackie, who is stubborn and becomes quite disturbed when Isabel steps onto her turf. She brings out all this emotion and feeling, as well as her actions and reactions, convincingly, matching the performance of Roberts, her opposite. Roberts is Isabel, and she brings all the brightness and charm of her own person into the role while also maintaining a short emotional fuse. It is easy to see that the two actresses are having fun in their roles, and their pairing for this movie is outstanding. Their performances make this one of the best movies of the year. Ed Harris plays the part of Luke, who knows how Jackie feels but wishes that she and Isabel would be able to come to an understanding of one another. His performance is earnest and warming, and like his costars, he makes his role believable and interesting.
"Stepmom" is one of those feel-good movies that was able to keep my interest throughout. There is a twist in the plot that I dare not even mention, because the filmmakers and producers have done a pretty good job of not giving it away in the promotional material. There is a lot of love between the characters, brought out by the stellar cast and a director whose films in this field have excelled. Based on emotional depth and connectivity, "Stepmom" is a nice piece of heart that is filled with true human feeling.
One of the saddest movies I have ever seen.
Stepmom may not be a definate classic but It will be remembered as a sad sad movie. It is one of the most heartbreaking films I have ever seen. Susan Sarandon gave what should've been an Academy Award nominated performance as a single mom battling cancer. Julia Roberts has another good performance as well as Ed Harris. The film does move you and make you feel lucky. It isn't my favorite, but for anyone who loved Terms of Endearment and Steel Magnolias this is the movie for you.