Stepmom

Director: Chris Columbus
Cast:
Julia Roberts
Susan Sarandon
Ed Harris
Jena Malone
Liam Aiken
Genre: Comedy

Okay, folks, I'll say it up front: Cancer movies are always a bit of a nightmare. Perhaps because no other word whispers such horror to anyone who has it, or know someone close who did, cancer is almost unfair as a screenplay device because it's just too obvious, too powerful. On TV, all someone has to do is cough (like Heather Locklear on "Melrose Place") and you know that she's going to lose her hair in the next episode. Cancer is the lazy screenwriter's way of jerking on heartstrings and imbuing characters with "depth" that the screenplay couldn't come up with itself; it is the ULTIMATE in "deus ex machina."

Of course, it can be done well, but us jaded Americans only allow about one good cancer movie every decade. Last decade it was "Terms of Endearment," which made a star of Debra Winger and introduced Jack Nicholson to the second, satisfying stage of his long career. I'm no soothsayer or anything, but I think that "Stepmom" might be in the running for this decade's cancer movie, even if getting there is sometimes an exercise in patience.

Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris have had a divorce, leaving their two kids (white, urban and rich, natch) to deal with Ed's new girlfriend, the self-absorbed Julia Roberts. A tug-of-war ensues between the two "moms," generally won by Sarandon until she learns she is stricken with you-know-what. Her journey, to release her children into the bonds of an unknown world, begins as a giant cliche, yet ends up being one of the most profound, sad and magical things I've seen on the screen in a while. Women, bring your Kleenex; men, you had better find a way to pretend not to cry.

Because you will. Sarandon turns in one of the strongest performances of her later career with "Stepmom," and surprise: Julia Roberts is pretty damn solid. For my money, though, the Oscar goes to Jena Malone—who also portrayed the young Jodie Foster character in "Contact"—a young performer who manages to be both asinine and heartbreaking within a single sentence. "Stepmom" is full of little treats like that, and though it may be a bit heavy for Christmas Day, it's a warm night out with the ones you love.

—Ian Williams

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