Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts, two of Hollywood’s most respected and talented actresses, teamed up in this 1998 drama movie directed by Chris Columbus. Stepmom is a very touching and emotional movie that pits the birth mother against the step mother.

The film tells the story of a stepmom learning to cope up with an ex-wife and her children. Susan Sarandon plays Jackie, a former editor, who has been divorced from Luke (Ed Harris) and they share custody of their children: 12 year old, Anna (Jena Malone) and Ben (Liam Aiken). Complicating matters in the family life is Luke's live-in girlfriend, Isabel (Roberts). Isabel (Julia Roberts) is an ambitious career woman and Luke’s live-in girlfriend. No matter how hard she tries, she is not accepted as part of the family by Jackie and kids. But things change when Jackie is diagnosed with potentially-fatal cancer and the whole family has to accept the fact that Isabel will soon step into the role of surrogate mother. The two mothers have different approaches to parenting but they finally bond with each other for the sake of  the children.

Both the characters, Jackie and Isabel, are very touching, very real-life and both want a good future for the two kids. Jackie is a perfect mother; always there for her kids no matter what. Her love for children makes her accept Isabel as the new mother of her children who she knows will take care of them after she is gone. On the other hand, Isabel, who is a career oriented woman, chooses the welfare of the children over her lifestyle. Initially she struggles with the kids but later decides to put her differences with Jackie aside and forms a very special bond with the kids.

Susan's character, Jackie is a perfect example of a mother who loves and places her children above everything else in the world. She is a devoted mother and even accepts Isabel as the stepmom knowing that the future of her kids is in good hands.

People generally attach the word 'wicked' with stepmom. It is always believed that stepmoms are cruel to the children. But the movie proved everyone wrong. It showed that even stepmoms can form a strong relationship with someone else's children.