Julia Roberts Movie:

				Salesrank: 272948
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
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

Stepmom [Region 2] Reviews:
Touching
2009-11-10 - I Loved this movie. I love Susan and I thought Julia did a very good job in this film. It is full of emotions, love, comflict, rivals, misunderstandings. joy. grief and forgivness and finally acceptance. I watch it often and it is new and fresh to me each time

The tricky unfairness of life !
2009-03-16 - "Stepmom" is an arresting existential drama about the lives and times of a fragmented couple(Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris) with two kids. He has a fiancée (Julia Roberts) who has to deserve and then to win respect and affection from these two sensitive children whose unerring behavior is perpetual motive of comparison respect her. In order to melt this emotional iceberg, Roberts who is a successful professional photographer, will have to fight very hard to occupy her own place in the new state of things.

With all these available dramatic premises, the expectations were too high. But the screenwriters bet for a tearful approach in the third movement of the play when a sudden twist of fate will intend to make us aware about the importance of the familiar values, above any serious conceptual difference between the new visitor and the original mother.

The film is intense but the dramatic material promised even much more. Keeping in count the entire cast, it was a real waste.


Unexpected Responsibilities and Blessings...
2009-03-14 - Isabel (Julia Roberts) and Jackie (Susan Sarandon) have nothing in common.

Or so they think. But despite the obvious differences between them - Isabel is a Manhattan fashion photographer and Jackie is a stay-at-home mom to two kids - there is a bond growing between them.

For Luke, (Ed Harris), the children's father, is about to marry Isabel - despite his children's avowed dislike for the woman - and something is happening to Jackie that will radically alter all of their lives.

Stepmom is a movie that I saw many years ago - first in the theater and later on VHS - and when I ordered this DVD, I knew that I would enjoy watching it over and over for many years to come.

The poignancy of this story can touch anyone out there who has ever experienced the family complications conveyed in this movie; it can deeply affect everyone who has ever lived through anything like the joy and sorrow felt by the characters.

A wonderful drama about life and the unexpected moments that linger in our memories.

Laurel-Rain Snow


loves it
2008-12-16 - This is one of my favorites ever! I watch it all the time. Great acting, script and music. Julia Roberts is my favorite actress and Susan Sarandon is right near the top of my list also. And when you combine the two, youre just bound to gave greatness. Also, the emotion of the movie is magnificent...you can feel it.

Stepmom
2008-10-24 - Delivery was as agreed and the dvd was in excellent condition. I will buy
from this provider again.