Product Description

Anna and Ben, the two children of Jackie and Luke, have to cope with the fact that their parents divoced and that there is a new woman in their father's life: Isabel, a successful photographer.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-APR-2002
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6006 in DVD
• Brand: ROBERTS,JULIA
• Released on: 1999-04-13
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Full Screen, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

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

From The New Yorker
A wealthy lawyer (Ed Harris) leaves his wife (Susan Sarandon) for a young photographer (Julia Roberts). Needless to say, his kids (Jena Malone and Liam Aiken) don't like the idea: they resent the presence of the interloper, who spends the rest of the movie trying to win them over. Just to complicate the issue, the wife learns that she has terminal cancer. It all adds up to a new and curious phase in the career of director Chris Columbus. He began by writing comedies, and graduated (or sank) to movies like "Mrs. Doubtfire," which surrounded the jokes with mush. Now the mush has taken over, and Columbus has slowed his pace in nervous deference to the solemnity of his plot (not to mention the opulence of his characters' lives). This does nobody any favors-particularly not actors as skilled as Sarandon and Harris, who do their best with a script that is itself incurable. Poor Julia Roberts is forced to indicate her photographic prowess by announcing "It's a wrap" at regular intervals; it's that kind of movie. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

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 her role as a stepmother with humor and heart. Sarandon's character is a bit annoying but hey she's dying of cancer. Sad, sad, sad film, I highly recommend it!

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 her best films. I'm not really a big Susan Sarandon fan but she was good in this movie. It revolves around the lives of the step mother conflcting with the mother from the previous marriage. The kids in this movie help liven up the movie and unfortunately havent been in any big name future films since. Jackie ends up getting cancer later in the movie which will bring tears to your eyes in some scenes. Isabel (Julia Roberts) is pretty much an artsy photographer who is considered "hip" by Jackie, the mother of the children. They have to put up with Isabel's poor motherhood instincts like accidentally "losing" one of the children in one scene. Later in the movie you grow to like both mothers. Even the father Luke gets likeable later in the movie as his character becomes more real. The cast of the movie is pretty talented. This is one of the better films Julia Roberts has been in. While "The Pelican Brief" is my all-time favorite of hers, "Stepmom" is still worth watching even though it's an older movie. Warning: if you're emotional be sure to bring some tissues with you while watching it. Definately worth the price.

Stepmom
I love this movie! Julia Roberts, once again does a fantastic job at making her character vibrant, and very creative. The writer tells the story about a family in and out of crisis- and shows us how that no matter their challenges with each other- their efforts taken to forgive and persue understanding, allows them to connect in a love relationship with one another that was encouraging for my own person life. Thanks.