Stepmom (1998 film)

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Stepmom is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Wendy Finerman, Mark Radcliffe, and Michael Barnathan. The screenplay was written by Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson, Steven Rogers, Karen Leigh Hopkins, and Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. Its plot follows a terminally ill woman dealing with her ex-husband's new lover, who will soon be their children's stepmother.

Stepmom was released in the United States on December 25, 1998, by Sony Pictures Releasing. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, grossing $159.7 million worldwide against a budget of $50 million. Among other accolades, Sarandon was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her performance.

Plot

Jackie and Luke Harrison are a divorced New York City couple who are struggling to co-parent their two children, daughter Anna and son Ben. Luke, an attorney, is living with his girlfriend of one year, Isabel Kelly, a successful fashion photographer several years his junior. Isabel, who has never wanted to be a mother, tries hard to make Anna and Ben feel comfortable. Anna repeatedly rejects her overtures while Ben, who likes Isabel, adds extra complications with his mischief. Isabel behaves with contempt tempered by caution around Jackie, believing she overcompensates for the divorce by spoiling her children.

Jackie, a former publisher turned stay-at-home mom, treats Isabel coldly, seeing her as an immature, selfish, overly ambitious career woman. She also continues to harbor malice towards Luke, as seen in confrontations about Isabel's parenting. After many arguments and hurt feelings involving Isabel, Jackie, and Anna, Luke proposes to Isabel, making her Anna and Ben's future official stepmother. This causes even more friction between the kids and adults respectively.

It's later revealed that Jackie has been silently battling lymphoma for some time, and the results of her latest scans say the disease is now terminal. She experiences a range of negative emotions, specifically jealousy of the woman who she feels is replacing her, and anger that after all of the sacrifices made for her children, she will never see them grow up. Jackie actively sabotages Isabel's effort to bond with the children, even to the point of refusing to allow Isabel to take Anna to see Pearl Jam and then later taking her to the concert herself.

Isabel and Anna's relationship eventually improves, and they bond over shared hobbies: music and painting. One day, after bringing back Ben from a birthday party, Isabel confronts Jackie, so she informs Luke and the children of her diagnosis, resulting in Anna emotionally storming out. That night, Jackie loosens up the tension by singing and dancing to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with Ben, soon joined by Anna too.

Both Jackie and Isabel continue to have disagreements, largely over Isabel's parenting. When Ben goes missing on Isabel's watch, Jackie threatens legal action and claims to have never lost him, which she later admits to be untrue. At school, Anna is consistently bullied by a boy she once liked and the two women give her conflicting advice, causing more tension.

Jackie later invites Isabel to have dinner with her, and they work out a shaky truce, coming to terms with Jackie's impending death and Isabel's role as a stepmother. They bond when Isabel reveals her admiration of Jackie's maternal instincts, while Jackie in turn praises Isabel's hipness as a means to connect with Anna. Isabel finally lets her guard down when she tells Jackie her biggest fear is that on Anna's wedding day, all she will wish for is her mother's presence, while Jackie admits her own fear is that Anna will forget her. They come to understand that while Jackie will always have the children's past, Isabel will have their future, and the children can love them both without choosing.

On Christmas morning, the family gathers to celebrate together. Jackie, now largely bedridden, shares emotional moments with her children individually, telling them that she will remain with them as long as they remember her. Isabel takes a family portrait of Luke and Jackie with the children. Jackie demonstrates her acceptance of Isabel by inviting her to join them, stating, "Let's get a photo with the whole family." Isabel sits next to Jackie for the photo, with both women holding hands, finally at peace with each other.

Cast

Reception

Stepmom opened at #2 at the North American box office behind Patch Adams making $19.1 million USD in its opening weekend.[1] It stayed at the second spot for another week. The film grossed $91,137,662 in the United States[2] and $159,710,793 worldwide[3] from a budget of $50 million.

Stepmom received mixed reviews from critics.[4] It has a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Solid work from Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon isn't enough to save Stepmom from a story whose manipulations dilute the effectiveness of a potentially affecting drama".[5] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[7]

Accolades

Susan Sarandon was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress.[8] Ed Harris won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Stepmom and The Truman Show.[9]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards June 16, 1999 Favorite Actress – Drama Julia Roberts Template:Won [10]
Susan Sarandon Template:Nominated
Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Jena Malone Template:Nominated
BMI Film & TV Awards January 1, 1999 BMI Film Music Award John Williams Template:Won [11]
Golden Globe Awards January 24, 1999 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Susan Sarandon Template:Nominated [12]
Kids' Choice Awards May 1, 1999 Favorite Movie Actress Julia Roberts Template:Nominated [13]
National Board of Review December 8, 1998 Best Supporting Actor Ed Harris (also for The Truman Show) Template:Won [14]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 18, 1998 Best Actress Susan Sarandon Template:Won Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Satellite Awards January 17, 1999 Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Template:Nominated [15]
Teen Choice Awards August 1, 1999 Choice Drama Movie Stepmom Template:Nominated [16]
Young Artist Awards March 6, 1999 Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actress Jena Malone Template:Won [17]
Best Performance in a Feature Film: Young Actor Age Ten or Under Liam Aiken Template:Won
Best Family Feature Film: Drama Stepmom Template:Won
YoungStar Awards November 7, 1999 Best Young Actress in a Drama Film Jena Malone Template:Won [18]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Stepmom was released on August 12, 1998 via Sony Classical label.

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Certifications

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Home media

The film was released in DVD and VHS on April 27, 1999. The film was released in Blu Ray on March 7, 2017 and also as part of a Blu-ray Disc double feature with The Deep End of the Ocean from Mill Creek Entertainment on June 4, 2019.

Remake

In 2010, Karan Johar's adaptation of Stepmom, titled We Are Family, was released for an Indian audience. Johar initially intended to buy the rights to the film, but eventually opted to co-produce it with Sony Pictures.[19] We Are Family stars Kajol, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Arjun Rampal, and was released to mixed reviews and received average returns at the box office.[20][21]

See also

References

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External links

Template:Chris Columbus

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