Two Reasons To See 'Stepmom'

In the emotional, effective new film Stepmom, we watch Julia Roberts, one of America's sweethearts, run through a series of scenes of exquisite pain as she tries to measure up to Susan Sarandon, the ex-wife of her boyfriend, Ed Harris.

For example, Roberts fails to properly remember the schedules of the children, which really ticks off Sarandon.

The script of Stepmom works through the problems of this situation in a mechanical fashion, as if checking them off a list. But Roberts is so beguiling that we're hooked into the story because we don't want to see her hurt in any way.

That she's competing with Susan Sarandon, one of the best actresses of our time, makes the twists and turns of Stepmom that much more engaging. We don't know who to root for. We want them both to be loved.

Stepmom, which opens Christmas Day, is a beautifully acted and thoroughly professional treatment of a touchy, emotional situation.