Stepmom (1998)

I'm not a huge fan of this type of stuff, but I found it not only tolerable, but actually fairly enjoyable. I think what made the movie work were the solid cast , and their decent performances. It's been a while since I saw this, so maybe a re-watch is in order to see if it still holds up.

Stepmom (1998): Dir: Chris Columbus / Cast: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Liam Aiken: Nauseating spectacle advertised as a cheerful comedy but fits more as a dramatic punch to the genitals. Julia Roberts plays the stepmom who represents growth and the acceptance of further responsibility. Many unnecessary problems enter the lives of the children. The daughter's problems at school are not relevant and poorly handled, and the son's trip to the hospital only serves as an excuse for the two leads to bicker. Roberts is a fashion photographer who wishes to communicate with the children. Sarandon suffers from cancer and uses a former job to cover it up. The result is a boring farce with two highly paid actresses rehearsing Family Feud. Directed half-heartedly by Chris Columbus who seems to lose touch with the subject matter. He dealt with this theme in similar fashion in Mrs. Doubtfire,which is much funnier, while this film is about as depressing as being on a ledge and readying to jump. Roberts and Sarandon bicker until arriving at a contrived revelation. Ed Harris as the ex-husband only surfaces for plot convenience. As for the children, they sniffle and whine until those closing credits indicating the film is over gives viewers reason to cheer. As oppose to a theme of amendments, it presents a celebrity argument. Score: 1 / 10

Stepmom is a well acted drama if slightly melodramatic film. I'm not quite sure why it's billed on here as a comedy/drama, although it does have some lighter moments it's a serious film and definitely not comedic. Knowing you are dying and are going to leave your children with another woman must be terrifying prospect for any woman. Stepmom does a good job of giving a balanced view both women's situation. Susan Sarandon is fantastic as the bitter ex wife who finds out she is dying. Julia Roberts also does a good support job as the prospective step mom. Jena Malone gives a great performance as the young girl struggling to come to terms with the situation. The film builds nicely towards it's inevitably sad conclusion. This is certainly up there with the saddest films I've ever seen. Be ready with the tissues if you are prone to crying at sad films. Stepmom is definitely a film aimed more towards the female market (it's one of my wife's favourites) but I'm not ashamed to say I really like it. Recommended.

As a Comedy, it stunk. It had only a couple of funny moments that were shown in the trailers - no other funny parts...In actuality, it is a tear jerker. I don't know why they classify it as Comedy or why the trailers gave the impression of a Comedy. As a real stepmom, myself, I was hoping to see a lighter-side comedy about relationships that can be difficult and sometimes pretty tough and even heartbreaking; instead, it was about a relationship that was forced/forged through tragedy - not much to laugh about in the tragic second half of the movie.That being said, it was well written and well executed and as a Drama it was really good. The acting was superb and the writing was excellent. I was disappointed because I had been in the mood for a Comedy when I watched it.