Bitchy People Grow On You

by Jason R. Hewlett

I'm gonna be honest: I had a hard time relating to the plights of a lot of the characters in the movie "Stepmom." I've never been married and therefore never been divorced. My parents never split up so I never had to adjust to a stepmom (or stepdad) of my own. I know people who have and could apply their insight into the situation of dealing with a new parent somewhat. I'm no parent either so I have some trouble relating to the idea of dealing with children in such a situation as the movie dictates so I can't review the film from personal experience and therefor can't say whether or now it's an accurate portrayal of families falling apart and growing anew.

I can review it on the basis of it being a film though. Good and/or bad. The story is about a divorced man (the always good but here under-used Ed Harris) falling in love with photographer Julia Roberts and her relationships with his two children and his ex-wife, played by Susan Sarandon. That's the basic jist anyway. As far as a movie goes it's okay at best. It would have been a heck of a lot better if the characters didn't spend the first hour yelling and arguing between themselves and doing nasty things to each other. Obviously the kids don't like Roberts. She's not there mother. Therefor they remind her of it constantly and play pranks on her and it all gets a little tedious. Then you've got Sarandon chastising Roberts because she's afraid she'll lose her hold on her children. I have it on good authority that any mother would react the same way but that doesn't mean I want to go to the movies to see it.

The film gets better as the characters start liking each other a little more and begin to come together as a family. There's a subplot involving Sarandon's character dying of cancer which provides some emotional punch and the opportunity for the excellent actress to stretch her acting chops. There are the usual plot throw-ins of children being lost in a park and having to chose between career and family too. It's all a bit contrived and far-out really. Heck, no one has a real job even. The three main characters are a fashion photographer, lawyer, and ex-Random House employee. You'd be hard pressed to find a threesome like that in the real world. However, this is the reel world so we're supposed to suspend our belief systems enough to by into such hogwash and, when the film is being fun instead of nasty, that gets a bit easier to take.

It's nice to see Roberts back on top as a star here too. She did good in "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Conspiracy Theory" and she does well here. She's got a natural charm to her that make sane overlook her knack for making either overly sentimental romances ("Pretty Woman") and out of place period films ("Mary Reilly"). She feels in her element here and holds her own.

In the end I'm glad the movie got better as it went along. It would have been a shame to sit through two hours of decent people yelling at each other.

5 out of 10!