STEPMOM RATING: 6 / 10 --> Barely recommendable
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Chris Columbus takes another poke at a film that includes happy upper-middle class families coping with their troubles by singing a few catchy 50's tunes, visiting beautiful settings with wonderful memories, and tossing a cute kid in for effect. Sound familiar? It might. He previously directed the huge hits of HOME ALONE (8/10) and MRS. DOUBTFIRE. This film is actually more of a drama, but the director's trademark devices are all present and accounted for.
PLOT: Two kids must deal with the fact that their parents are divorced and that daddy is ready to bring another younger woman into their lives permanently. The mother of said kids seems to have a bigger chip on her shoulder in regards to the new "stepmom" moving in with her kids, as the whole lot of them deal with their emotions, reservations and fears in respect to this new family dynamic.
CRITIQUE: A cardboard cutout of a perfectly sad drama done in happy smiley faces, this film gives us a few laughs, most of which I had already seen in the TV commercial, many moments of emotional confrontations, a couple of which managed to give me the "ol' wet-eye", and an uninspired script acted out to perfection by some very talented actors. I have to say that nothing in this movie surprised me one bit, and that most of what I did see was played out by the numbers. Stepmom bad, kids and mom good. Daddy confused. Stepmom mess up, kids and mom still good. Daddy confused. Stepmom try harder, kids start liking her, mom catch deadly disease. Daddy still confused. Can you fill out the rest? Well I did, and I'm guessing that most others will as well.
Having said that, this film still managed to make me chuckle every now and again, mostly because of the cute kid (Damn you, Columbus!!), and did feature some terrific performances by all involved, with a special hand going out to Susan Sarandon's eyes, which absolutely took a beating during this film. Her eyes were filled with tears for what seemed like the whole movie, but she still managed to deliver her lines perfectly. To the redness in her eyeballs, and to the onions in her diet, I tip my baseball cap, and wish her the best of luck at the Oscars. Julia also managed to cramp up a couple of tears here and there, and even Harris got in on the act. All in all, a by-the-numbers sappy dramatic comedy, that offers a lot of inspiration to all those in this same situation (I am not, so I admit that I could not truly relate to any one of these characters), but very little to all others, who may be looking for a night of entertainment. My usual female companion for the evening, Mrs. JoBlo also didn't care much for the film, despite washing a wave or two from her puffy eyes during the Sarandon red-eye scenes. See it if the premise interests you, or if you want your loved one to cry, so that you could cuddle up with them, otherwise, skip it, and see TITANIC (7/10) again. At least that schmaltz-fest had some slick special effects!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Julia Roberts' full name is actually Julie Fiona Roberts. She was once engaged to actor Kiefer Sutherland, and dated TV's "Friends" favourite sarcastic friend, Chandler Bing, Matthew Perry. Her wedding with Kiefer Sutherland fell through just days before the couple was scheduled to take their June 14, 1991 vows. The groom-to-be's indiscretions with a stripper reportedly were the last straw in what had been a turbulent relationship from the outset, and Roberts fled to Ireland with Sutherland's buddy, actor Jason Patric. She is to receive US$17 million salary for her upcoming role opposite her PRETTY WOMAN (7.5/10) co-star, Richard Gere, in the film called THE RUNAWAY BRIDE. Her bra size is 34B. Her real parents divorced when she was only four, and her father passed away from cancer when she was only nine. Susan Sarandon's full name is Susan Abigail Tomaling. She has three children with actor Tim Robbins, to whom she is not married. She also had a large family growing up, and was the oldest of eight younger brothers and sisters. She once dated director Louis Malle and actor Sean Penn. If you're into this kind of thing, you might enjoy her lesbian love scene with Catherine Deneuve in 1983's THE HUNGER, starring David Bowie. Ed Harris has been married to actress Amy Madigan since 1982. She is best known as Kevin Costner's wife in FIELD OF DREAMS (7.5/10). Two previous titles for this picture were CLASS DIVIDED and GOOD NIGHT MOON (and you thought STEPMOM was bad). The proposal scene in this movie was apparently thought up by Julia Roberts and Ed Harris (And yet they needed five writers to accomplish this squeeshy script?). Director Chris Columbus' production company is called 1492 productions. Get it? Christopher Columbus...1492? :) Screenwriter Gigi Levangie, who just happens to be the wife of big-time producer Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment, had originally presented her original screenplay to all involved, who found her version to be "unrealistic". Four other writers later, it apparently turned "realistic". Go figure.
Review Date: January 3, 1999
Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson, Steven Rogers, Karen Leigh
Hopkins and Ronald Bass
Producer: Wendy Finerman, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark
Radcliffe
Actors: Julia Roberts as Isabel
Susan Sarandon as Jackie
Ed Harris as Luke
Genre: Drama
Year of Release: 1998
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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