Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Stepmom (1998)

Director: Chris Columbus

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Businessman Luke (Harris) has a new girlfriend, gorgeous trendy Isabel (Roberts). His children prefer their mom, reliable protective Jackie (Sarandon). She isn't too keen on her replacement either, but she's dying from cancer. It's hard not to feel like a puppet while watching this - at every moment there's a cold hand prodding you into laughter or tears. Director Chris Columbus has been doing this for years, and as conservative propaganda goes (the message is good mums sacrifice all for their kids) it's as smooth as butter. The cast are more than adequate. Sarandon ennobles the dumbest of lines - contorting that intelligently clownish face into a million expressions of hurt - and Roberts does her urban-girl schtick to perfection.

Author: CO'Su 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: Chris Columbus

Producer: Wendy Finerman, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan

Cast: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Liam Aitken, Lynn Whitfield, Darrell Larson full cast

Duration: 125 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.