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Julia Roberts *IS* Stepmom. What else is there to say? Well, OK. Julia portrays a New York City High Fashion Photographic Genius, who gets involved with Ed Harris, and the two children Ed had from a former marriage to Susan Sarandon. The daughter hates the arrangement, while the younger brother seems to take the upheaval in stride. There are lots of confrontational scenes between Julia and the daughter, as well as between Julia and Susan. Smart dialog helps raise this film above others. Tearjerkers beware, because eventually, things happen.
Why did I see this film? I had no intention to, but what I wanted to see (Elizabeth) was sold out. I had a choice of seeing Julia trying to act, or Robin Williams being his usual hyperactive hilarious self. . I was debating all the way to the ticket counter. I chose on the basis that I wanted to see Julia act as if she can argue in a movie. I've seen Robin Williams do funny, and I'm sure I'll see Patch Adams, if not rent it, soon enough. I'll admit that I was surprised by several things:
Ed Harris has talent in non-action movies. Bravo.
Julia can Act, if pressed.
Susan's still got it.
Hollywood can make movies that don't leave everyone happy by the time the credits roll.
One thing that I should point out here is that there's definitely some funny business going on in that family. First, the young son has a bunny, as he's into magic. Then, Julia gives the kids a dog. About two-thirds of the way through the film, these animals completely disappear! It's as if they never existed, and that's a very hard thing to accomplish, considering the size of the dog. Nobody seems to notice or even care! What's going on here? Doesn't anyone try to be consistent?
I am not from a divorced family, yet this movie helped me to understand the dynamic, albeit probably too simply. An interesting story that more or less centered around the female perspective. There was a surprising turn as far as an illness that one of the main characters gets that caused some tears in the audience (not me), so be prepared for that. I was prepared to give this film two stars, but on reconsidering the ending that leaves some loose ends untied, I decided on three, but only if you like this sort of character-driven (not story-driven) sort of film.
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