For about the first half-hour of so Stepmom holds great promise. A year after successful middle-aged lawyer (Harris) divorces wife (Sarandon) we find him sharing his two school age kids and living with much younger beauty (Roberts). The tension is palpable; between husband and ex-wife, between kids and girlfriend, and especially between ex-wife and girlfriend. I thought this was going to be great, just bring it on home.
Then the wings fall off, and the movie craters into the ground. It's almost as if the writers and director were given the first half-hour of the movie, and told "now go finish the movie, but make it unwatchable". Because that is what happens; the remaining hour of the movie is a painful flogging.
The plot and dialogue are unpredictable only in their unbelievability. Does this stuff really happen? Do divorced, unemployed single mothers live in mansions, drive high-end automobiles, and own horses? Do writers and directors feel the need to string out multiple confessional scenes so they take up the last third of the movie? Is this supposed to be entertaining? Enlightening? What is going on here? No, better yet, get me out of here!
Pity the poor actors, they give it their best, but this movie is a depressing loser.
