58
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90New Times (L.A.)Jean OppenheimerNew Times (L.A.)Jean OppenheimerA genuinely affecting movie that approaches its adult themes with intelligence, maturity, and rare authenticity.
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinTo its credit, the film doesn't sugarcoat its women too monstrously, and it lets real conflicts and opinions occasionally creep in.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyEverything about the film suggests that its makers consider it a deep, emotionally probing drama, but it's merely a soap opera with elevated production values and a sterling cast.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranIt may be unfair to ask a film like this not to be shamelessly manipulative, but wouldn't it be nice if audiences could be trusted to feel things more or less on their own without layers of unnecessary hokum entering the picture?
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonToo loud, bright and shallow for its subject: a movie that pushes too many obvious buttons to build naturally to the big, heartbreaking climax it obviously wants.
- 60L.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyL.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyLess a movie about stepfamilies than a PSA about how cancer makes everyone behave themselves at Christmas.
- 60Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorIn a lumbering way, this depressing feel-good drama about the impact of cancer on two children, their divorced parents, and the father's girlfriend offers some useful insights into how feelings of jealousy and betrayal can limit the potential of family relationships.
- 50Village VoiceAmy TaubinVillage VoiceAmy TaubinLoathsome though Stepmom is, the eternally coltish Roberts is always a pleasure to watch and Sarandon's mordant wit occasionally comes to the fore.
- These characters are too remote, too pretty, and too unrealistic to move us in any lasting way.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe skill of the actors, who invest their characters with small touches of humanity, is useful in distracting us from the emotional manipulations, but it's like they're brightening separate rooms of a haunted house.