Product Description: A touching story of unlikely friendship between two remarkable women. A hilarious poignant heartfelt drama about the tears we shed and the joys we share when someone new steps into the family. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Julia Roberts Ed Harris Run time: 125 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Chris Columbus
Amazon.com essential video: Though Stepmom was dismissed as a contender in the 1998 Oscar race, it's worth giving a second chance to this rather cogent, sharp-tongued look at second chances. Susan Sarandon's performance as a mom about to be replaced by her ex-husband's new girlfriend (played by Julia Roberts) has a lot of bite, and it's a shame the script opted to marginalize and trivialize her plight in its final reel. Initially, the rancor that passes between divorced mom Jackie (Sarandon) and trendy fashion photographer Isabel (Roberts) rings true, aided by the sincerity of Jackie's ex-husband Luke (Ed Harris) and the emotional plight of their children, who have the most to lose in their parents' divorce. As the drama makes clear, the kids are the real victims in the agony that ensues between old and new love.
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Stepmom
Delivery was as agreed and the dvd was in excellent condition. I will buy
from this provider again.
Rating: - Creepy subtext
Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the father (Ed Harris) was mostly absent from his kids' lives? It appears that he and his first wife (Susan Sarandon) divorced because he's a workaholic. Now ... Read More
Rating: - LOVE the house!
I watch this movie because I love Ed Harris and his eyes:) and the Victorian House in the woods!! These two things are worth watching the movie for.
Rating: - Not a wicked stepmom.
Stepmom starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon is a funny and moving film directed by Chris Columbus. Ed Harris also stars and jeez isn't he great in every movie?! I like Roberts in this film, she plays ... Read More
Rating: - Really Moving Film
I just rented this because I was interested in seeing more movies with Julia Roberts, one of my favorite Hollywood actresses. i think she is beautiful and really gets into her parts. "Step Mom" is one of ... Read More
- Stepmom
- Creepy subtext
- LOVE the house!
- Not a wicked stepmom.