I hadn't seen this tearjerker in years but remembered really enjoying it. If I'm honest think I liked it more the first time around than in my re-watch. Its still a pretty good movie that you can't help getting pulled into, a bit soap opera-ie, lots of angst, moments of humour all held together by a great cast.Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon give amazing performances here (even if Julia's lips are distracting at times) The kids also do a great job capturing cute, bratty and sad realistically. The little boy is very cute. Ed Harris even pops in and out as the father/boyfriend (which is always nice) but this story is about the relationship between the woman.So yeah this is a heart-tugger with Roberts playing a career minded photographer whose relationship with a lawyer (Harris) gets complex as she clashes with his supermom ex-wife (Sarandon) over the well being of the children. They are forced to rise above however when Sarandon is diagnosed with cancer and that's when things get super sad. 07.13

I loved every bit of it. I remember watching this together with my whole family and hugging my mom at the end. The love they show for their mother is gold-worthy. It's also a realistic movie which makes it even better. Their mother doesn't like the stepmother at first because she still loves her ex-husband and she hopes to get back together but when she sees that their love is real she puts her hate aside and just tries to live through it all. The fact that the mother accepts the fact that another woman will take care of her children when she's no longer there had me in tears. It's a real tearjerker and a really good movie to watch with the whole family. It's a movie that will stay in your mind and heart forever. If you haven't watched it yet, this is your chance. You'll thank me later.

Grab a box of Kleenex, a bag of popcorn and a sweetheart to share the tears with in this coming together of two women who would otherwise despise each other. They are the ex-wife and girlfriend of a busy dad who must learn to co-exist when potential tragedy arises. Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts both shine in this more recent variation of "Terms of Endearment", "Steel Magnolias" and "Beaches" where women end competition for the greater good. Sarandon is a force of nature as she goes from resentful of her ex's fiancée to confiding when a potentially fatal disease strikes, making it necessary to prepare her two children for the possibility that they will have to go on with future step-mom Roberts. The kids have understandably conflicting feelings and even when the teen daughter gets bratty, you empathize with her. Watching these two remarkable suddenly become pals is touching and rewarding, and scenes of New York in the fall and winter are beautiful. Roberts underplays her part, instilling her character with understanding and integrity, even humor. In an era where women seem intent on allowing themselves to be presented in a less nurturing light and allow the media to focus on mainly negative aspects, it is films like this which truly remind us of the qualities that make women great and give us the chance to celebrate their true strengths which do not have to result in a cat fight on a TV reality show.

As a stepmom, I have quite a few things to say about this film. I think this is one of the worst films the great Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts have ever been in. This is basically about a man who is divorced with 2 kids who has a new, much younger girlfriend. I don't want to explain everything about the movie, just a few annoying points. First of all, the biological mother played by Sarandon lives in an incredibly beautiful and expensive home in Connecticut. She also has lots of land and horses. Sarandon apparently does not work either. The father played by Harris lives in the city in another incredibly beautiful and expensive place and they all drive expensive cars. How is this possible? With the bio-mom receiving the house, the child support and alimony payments it's a wonder he is not living in a 1 bedroom apartment. According to the way everybody is living, he must be a multi millionaire. Of course the new girlfriend, Roberts, is a trendy fashion photographer. Uygh. It seems everybody has lots of money. That is what irks me, because along with all the drama involved in being part of a blended family, one major problem is money. Ex- wives taking their ex-husbands back to court for more support, etc.. The struggles of the second family to make ends meet because 30% of the fathers income is going to his ex-wife. Apparently this is not an issue here. Another thing is the ex-husband, Harris, meets his ex- wife, Sarandon for dinner to discuss the fact that he will be asking his girlfriend, Roberts, to marry him. Come on. I can understand telling the bio-mom before you tell the kids, but telling her before you give your girlfriend the ring? It was like he was asking permission from his ex-wife to ask his girlfriend to marry him. It's so nice that ex-spouses can get along so well. Detect sarcasm. Oooh, if I found out my fiancé did that he'd be in a world of trouble. Another thing that irked me was that Roberts received a call on the job to pick up her future stepson at school. Apparently, the mom and dad could not do it and nobody else was available. I believe you have to be on a list at the school to be allowed to remove children for the safety of the kids. How did the fathers girlfriend get on that list? Please. So she risks her job to pick up a child that she is not responsible for. She goes back to her photo shoot in the park with the kid, but he wanders off. He eventually gets found, but when the bio mom finds out she is furious, and files a restraining order against Roberts. Huh? How about reprimanding the kid for wandering off when he was specifically told not to, and then not allowing Roberts to take responsibility for the kids ever again? If Roberts lives with the kids father, a restraining order seems quite ridiculous. I have to say, that this film shows a fantasy that most stepmoms have when dealing with unreasonable, jealous ex-wives. That fantasy is the bio mom dying. Yes, Sarandon has cancer and is going to die. How wonderful that would be for so many non custodial stepmoms, no more alimony, child support payments, a hefty life insurance policy payout, and no more controlling ex-wife poisioning the kids against their father and stepmom. But this is a fantasy, not reality. This film ends up not about being a stepmom and having a successful family, but tying up loose ends and preparing the kids for having a replacement mom when the bio mom dies.