Chris Columbus, director of Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone, dished out to audiences this compelling film in the year 1998. Starring Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris, it portrayed the joys and challenges of family life - a family on the verge of being torn apart by an imminent divorce, yet all set to start off with a new set of relationships...
Jackie and Isabel are the perfect opposites - one is the ideal mother, the other is struggling to fit into the shoes of a mother. The two different aspects of a woman - one is the traditional embodiment of motherhood, the other is a plethora of sparkling enthusiasm, a picture of youthfulness trying her best to embrace maturity. They can’t be expected to match up to each other, let alone compliment each other... They are the two different worlds revolving around the same man’s life. These two women are portrayed and kept miles apart in every sense.. Until circumstances force them to share a family and put aside their mutual differences for the sake of their two children. They discover how precious life, love and the ties that bind people together really are. It comes out as a real movie - painting the laughters and tears of broken hearts, of hearts that covet love and care and of hearts that dream of a happy and fulfilling life...
Julia Roberts is Isabel, a careerist fashion photographer and a full-fledged unwelcome stepmother to her boyfriend Luke’s (Ed Harris) two children - 12 year old Anna (Jena Malone) and 7 year old Ben (Liam Aiken). All set to don on the role of a mother, the truth sinks in with a lot of biting harshness. Isabel finds out how difficult it is for a human being to assume the role of an entirely different person - and especially when expectations say that you need to be the exact replacement!! Jackie (Susan Sarandon) just doesn’t want any sort of intrusions into her kids’ life - and for God’s sake, not the least bit from a person she deems the most unacceptable. The fierce devotion of the mother, the unconditional yet reserved love of the stepmother makes the drama livelier and often complex, yet comical and likeable.
However, things change when Jackie discovers that she is terminally ill and Isabel’s relationship with Luke becomes serious. Susan portrays the restrained trauma of a dying mother with extreme perfection. She gradually takes the back seat, but with enough dignity. She lets the kids spend more time with Isabel and watches their bond getting stronger. Keeping the news of her illness to herself, Jackie brings alive the strength of a mother - watch the scenes where she’s lying on the hospital bed and fixing up a date with her son in his dreams. The innocence of the kid who is unaware of his mother’s condition and the pain of the mother who has to act to hold together everything that her life means really moves you to tears. One fine morning however, in a confrontation with Isabel, Jackie needs to give up her secret. Their lives change, they change to accept the truth - Jackie was the past of their kids and Isabel was going to be the future...
Susan Sarandon excels in the sensitive role of a woman who initially is the reluctant and possessive mother. She changes to a person who realizes that life is all about learning how to smile - you never know if tomorrow will ever come... But Julia steals the show. She is the woman who accepts everything to bring happiness to the man she loves. She loses her job but never compromises on the kids. She puts up a brave face (and an ever-smiling one too!!) - check her in the scene with Susan at the cafe where she breaks down and opens up her heart. She’d never wanted to be a mother and when she is becoming one, she knows that somebody else will always be remembered by her kids. Beyond all happiness she gives to Anna and Ben, they will perhaps always find an emptiness somewhere... The eternal fears of a human heart - Roberts’ expressions are more believable than words. Ed Harris doesn’t have much to do but does the little bit pretty well. The kids do their part in the sweetest and most convincing way possible...
Stepmom is all about two strong, independent women and apparent polar opposites who find out a way to connect. The script demands a strong interplay of emotions and two women of strength. Needless to say, Susan and Roberts fit their roles to the T. And one personal recommendation - do watch the last scene of the movie; it’s probably gonna be an evergreen favorite of mine.
A small add-on: Rumors are making rounds that Madhuri Dixit is making a comeback and probably through a Hindi adaptation of Stepmom...
Sounds really great... I’ll be waiting... :)