Write a commentI'm sure there will be more than a few of you who check and recheck to see who wrote this particular review.
Yes, this is the same person that's been writing about horror movies and how some movies can have fun gore and that a movie called "Blood Rage" is the perfect kind of bad movie to watch around the holidays.
Further, I have not experienced some kind of psychotic break with reality. For all of my critical output thus far, most of you would likely believe me to be some sort of hardened, hard core horror fan. A "gorehound", some might say. Some sick weirdo that confuses movies with reality.
In actuality, I'm an enormous coward when it comes to horror. I get scared, have nightmares and, if someone approaches me from a blind spot, I usually jump, having to take several breaths to lower my heart rate. That is, of course, if I haven't instinctively punched that person.
Like, "AH! (punch) Oh, no. Are you okay?"
When it comes to movies, it doesn't matter the genre. It just has to be good. Hard to describe exactly, but there are a lot of factors. The fact that something would be considered a "chick flick" doesn't deter me from watching it. In fact, one of my favorite films of all time is "As Good As It Gets".
My mother always had somewhat of a dubious relationship with movies. Movies were my Dad's thing. He didn't truck with no "chick flicks" neither. Maybe that's why my mother didn't get more into movies. My father was always watching old film noir or westerns or war movies. Don't get me wrong: my mother was no wilting flower. When my father did something she didn't agree with, she made sure he knew about it. Half the neighborhood as well.
My mother wasn't without her favorites. She was always one for a tearjerker. She would watch "Fried Green Tomatoes" on repeat if she was able to. I remember buying her the VHS to "Simon Birch", if anyone remembers that one. But, the grandmaster of all of them (to her) was "Stepmom".
The plot is fairly simple. Jackie (Sarandon) learns she has cancer and has to learn to get along with her ex-husband's (Harris) new girlfriend, Isabel (Roberts). That's kind of it. Sarandon and Roberts have to set aside their differences in order to prepare for Sarandon's inevitable death.
While the plot is pretty threadbare, the actors do their best with the material. Roberts and Sarandon both turn in pretty good performances considering. They have chemistry and they feel like their characters. As the movie goes on, we really feel the depth between them grow. Harris is good in a somewhat thankless role as is Jena Malone. Malone's character is one-note, but she's decent.
The real problem is the script. Credited to 5 (!) different people, the script doesn't strive to be anything but cheap melodrama. The material is elevated by the actors involved, but much of it devolves into your standard nonsense. Many of the characters don't have a lot of depth. We're engaged because of the chemistry among the actors, nothing else.
The direction is flat and uninteresting. Chris Columbus has never been that great of a director. Despite the fact he's had a lot of success, his filmography is riddled with him having dumb luck. "Stepmom" is clearly an Oscar bait type film, but doesn't have enough to make it unique. Columbus is such a bland director that his lack of skill combined with the hamfisted screenplay causes the film to fail before it really gets a chance to start.
I'm not entirely stony. There are elements of the film that hit a very base level with me. We all have family squabbles. While I never had a stepmom myself, I've had plenty of familial defugulties over the years, including with my mother. And no, not just over our individual movie tastes. We would argue about nonsense and legitimately upset one another for miniscule things. A look, a tone or something else would set off a full day fight that would never quite get resolved. That is one thing that "Stepmom" gets correct. Most arguments are not black and white. There's so much history between the two people arguing that it can't be resolved with a simple "I'm sorry". It takes maturity and patience, two things not everyone possesses.
For those who don't know (and why would you unless you know me outside of writing reviews?), my mother died October of 2024 after a series of hospital visits over a couple of years' time. I won't mince words here. It was awful. Something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. The whole time she was in the ICU, I kept thinking how I would put a better foot forward when she woke up. Be more pleasant, help more without complaining. I even, Heaven help me, considered watching "Stepmom" anytime she asked instead of finding some other horror movie to watch when she was around.
I wish I could go back. Regret is a big part of my life unfortunately. She was a great lady and went out of her way to do things for others. She would inconvenience herself, put her life and needs on hold in order to serve the greater good. Close friends of mine have told me the same. That I don't care about myself but would always be there for them when they needed me.
As I get older, I realize that maybe the majority of the arguments I once had with my mother weren't because of our differences, but because of our similarities. In an odd way, that's what happens in "Stepmom" with Jackie and Isabel. In a better written and executed film, these themes could have really sung because they're universal. I wish I was able to explain this epiphany to my mother.
I suppose if there is an afterlife, she's probably checking in on me from time to time. I'm sure she has better things to do so I can't imagine she's over my shoulder as I type this. I'm sure she would be absolutely mortified that I'm writing this for publication. Moreover, she'll probably be livid that, despite all the memories attached to "Stepmom" and the fact I've waxed poetic about our relationship, I'm not rating it on a curve.
I am, above all else, a man of principles. These principles, however, won't prevent me from being haunted by the apparition of my mother, holding the Blu-Ray of "Stepmom" and moaning, "How dare you besmirch Isabel and Jackie's plight!"
I think, at this point, I'd be getting off easy with a simple haunting.
Stepmom (1998)
Directed by Chris Columbus
Cast: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Liam Aiken
Runtime: 125 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for language and thematic elements.
Rating (out of ****): *1/2
"Stepmom" is available to rent or buy on all major streaming platforms. It is also available to buy on Blu-Ray.
