Stepmom (1998)

44% of critics liked it
(54 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(253,883 ratings)

Mrs. Doubtfire director Chris Columbus continues to explore the family turmoil of divorce in the tearjerker Stepmom, a story that pits the birth mother against the new mother. Jackie (Susan Sarandon), a one-time book editor, is now the consummate soccer mom juggling the schedules of her two kids in… More Mrs. Doubtfire director Chris Columbus continues to explore the family turmoil of divorce in the tearjerker Stepmom, a story that pits the birth mother against the new mother. Jackie (Susan Sarandon), a one-time book editor, is now the consummate soccer mom juggling the schedules of her two kids in her New York ranch outside of Manhattan. Her ex-husband Luke (Ed Harris), who gets weekend custody of the kids, is living in the city with a woman half his age named Isabel (Julia Roberts), a high-fashion photographer with a strong stylistic sense of "what's hot." Since Luke is always away at work, the burden of getting the kids ready for school when they are with their father falls on Isabel, and she just isn't the nurturing type. The story heats up, however, when Jackie learns that she has cancer. Facing the horrors of medical tests and chemotherapy, she realizes that, should something happen to her, her kids will be left with this irresponsible Isabel as their mother, especially after Luke proposes marriage to her. What ensues is part parenting lesson, part competitive parenting, but 100 percent family bonding, as Jackie must learn to allow Isabel to be part of her world and her family. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Chris Columbus
Written By: Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson, Karen Leigh Hopkins, Ron Bass, Steven Rogers
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 25, 1998 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2001
Studio: TriStar Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Too loud, bright and shallow for its subject!
Susan Stark, Detroit News
Not since 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer has a mainstream movie more accurately, insightfully, humorously or tear-jerkingly dramatized family life in our time than Stepmom!
Todd McCarthy, Variety
It's merely a soap opera with elevated production values and a sterling cast.
Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media
Contrived yet effective family weepie.
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com
A sloppily scripted, formulaic tear-jerker about spoiled rich people who whine a lot. I defy you to feel anything for these characters other than the desire to slap them--even Sarandon's obligatorily terminally-ill Mom.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Conveys many of the difficulties inherent in the stepfamily arrangement and the insecurities we all tend to feel when we compare ourselves to others.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The film's effectiveness had less to do with the story than it did the strong work of the actors.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bethany M

Heartbreaking yet very heartwarming!
Chris W

I'm not a huge fan of this type of stuff, but I found it not only tolerable, but actually fairly enjoyable. I think what made the movie work were the solid cast , and their decent performances. It's been a while since I saw this, so maybe a re-watch is in order to see if it… More
I'm not a huge fan of this type of stuff, but I found it not only tolerable, but actually fairly enjoyable. I think what made the movie work were the solid cast , and their decent performances. It's been a while since I saw this, so maybe a re-watch is in order to see if it still holds up.
Kellie M

My alltime favorite movie, can recite the lines!
Wahida K

Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon were absolute great in this Movie. One of the Movie that leaves a tiny bit of it in your memories.
Jason O

A journalist named Isabel (Julia Roberts) falls in love with Luke (Ed Harris). They have a great relationship, but everything's not nearly as easy going between Isabel and Luke's two children and their real mom. Jackie (Susan Sarandon), the real mom, isn't ready to… More
A journalist named Isabel (Julia Roberts) falls in love with Luke (Ed Harris). They have a great relationship, but everything's not nearly as easy going between Isabel and Luke's two children and their real mom. Jackie (Susan Sarandon), the real mom, isn't ready to accept having another mother figure in the lives of her kids. Isabel also has a lot of problems dealing with the daughter because she doesn't want another mom. Isabel, Jackie, Luke, and the kids must find a way to work things out between all of them or else they might not ever be one good happy family. Although "Stepmom" probably isn't one of the movies that you will hear the critics rave about a lot, it is one of the best movies of its kind without a doubt, at least in my opinion it is. I've been through a divorce and I've had to accept a new step-parent that I still haven't accepted even today, so I could really relate to the drama in this movie. I know that that's why I liked it so much and why it's one of the best movies I've ever seen, but I don't see why anyone who can't relate to it like I did wouldn't like "Stepmom" just as much. "Stepmom" is a realistic approach to a change in the family. It has great family moments, mean-spirited drama that deals with jealousy and having trouble accepting new people, and a lot of emotional parts. All the ingredients in "Stepmom" make for one of the best family drama movies ever made, but what REALLY makes it an unforgettable movie is the great acting. All the main characters in the movie do a great job of acting including Julia Roberts, Ed Harris, the two kids, and especially Susan Sarandon. To go along with the great directing and the acting, "Stepmom" also has a great score and some good songs such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." If you buy any family dramas, I would recommend getting "Stepmom" before any of the others. There are a lot of great family drama movies out there, but of the ones I've seen, none of them top "Stepmom." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001.
Coxxie M

i dont remember this due to seeing it when i was 8. But my 8-year-old self would think this sucks.
Alice S

So wonderful! It's got sass and class, angst and remorse, fantasy and tragedy.
Candy R

Susan is a terminally ill mother with two kids and an ex-husband who has met a young Julia. Such a tear jerker. Rivalry then respect.
Film C

i loved it really good heartwarmingly sad but funny film
Sanjaya &

I just gonna say WOW for this movie... A beautiful portrait of broken family from Chris Columbus... It's just great... The cast... They were brilliant... Especially Susan Sarandon, she's portrait like a true mother who got a cancer.. So sad... Almost makes me cry... Julia… More
I just gonna say WOW for this movie... A beautiful portrait of broken family from Chris Columbus... It's just great... The cast... They were brilliant... Especially Susan Sarandon, she's portrait like a true mother who got a cancer.. So sad... Almost makes me cry... Julia Roberts shows great act too and so does Ed Harris... But they two just like a 'beginner' in front of Susan Sarandon... She's the central attention for this movie... And the two kids, played brilliantly by Jena Malone and Liam Aiken... They two shows a nature act like a kid in the broken home condition... They're shows that they have futures in Hollywood... A great movie with great cast... I just loved it the first time I see it...
Julie B

Sunday-night-movie-of-the-week.
Taylor B

The mom dies at the end.
Rachel F

Great. It is sad when Susan's character passes away but Julia Roberts plays her character well enough to keep you watching.
Dean M

Good, but fluffy little tale concerns Julia Roberts's efforts to win the respect, if not actual affection, of her fiance's two children, who's much rather stay with divorced mom Susan Sarandon.
jay n

one of the most god awful movies ever made. my teeth hurt just remembering it!
Jason S

Sad flick.
Dannielle A

Amazing acting by Roberts and Sarandon.
Deb S

In this maudlin, melodramatic fantasy, we have five main characters: The stepmom (Julia Roberts), the mom (Susan Sarandon), the dad (Ed Harris), and two kids. Harris is a successful middle-aged lawyer who divorces his wife and is now living with much younger beauty with his two kids.… More
In this maudlin, melodramatic fantasy, we have five main characters: The stepmom (Julia Roberts), the mom (Susan Sarandon), the dad (Ed Harris), and two kids. Harris is a successful middle-aged lawyer who divorces his wife and is now living with much younger beauty with his two kids. The tension is palpable; between husband and ex-wife, between kids and girlfriend, and especially between ex-wife and girlfriend. When it comes to parenting, Roberts is highly inexperienced, so it's not easy for her to look after the kids when she is left to do so, and her job sometimes gets in the way. In addition to that, the kids don't like their step-mom. Sarandon, who played the dying mother, was so overbearing, demanding, petty and bitchy both before and after she was diagnosed with cancer so it is hard to feel any sympathy towards her. The events of the last third of the film are intended, I assume, to turn around our perception of these characters and somehow make them more endearing. Well, for me, it just didn't work. Although the acting was at least competent, the apparent moral of the story of absolute forgiveness under adversity was just not plausible.
ashley h

A tad unrealistic,but if people put their kids first instead of their own ego's this move might be more commonplace,there's hope. A great film
Jason S

It falls away in the finale a little, but Stepmom is one of those heartwarming films that you just love and remains with you. Great stuff.