Mother's Boys

Just when you thought every conceivable permutation of the 'home invasion' plot had been worked, along comes this flashy, vapid variation. The twist here is that the 'happy family' consists of Gallagher, his three kids, and his schoolmarm girlfriend Whalley-Kilmer. And the intruder is not some scheming psycho home-wrecker but the children's 'natural' mother, Curtis, who walked out on them all three years earlier. Her revived claim on the family's affections at first seems genuine, but soon she's poisoning the boys' minds with lies about their father and surrogate mother. Curtis also makes a play for Gallagher and it's his refusal of her advances that precipitates the final all-out attack. Director Simoneau fills the screen with artificially lit images, over-dressed sets and immaculately designed costumes, while neglecting such essentials as pacing and suspense.