DVD: Natalie Portman in The Other Woman and 5 Other Movie Stepmothers (and Fathers) Who Are Not Evil
While Natalie Portman earned critical praise and heaps of awards for Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Black Swan last year, her work in Don Roos' limited release drama The Other Woman (available on DVD today from MPI Home Video) went largely overlooked. Not that it should have been -- Portman turned in another pitch perfect performance, this time as Emilia Greenleaf, the homewrecking second wife of a Manhattan lawyer (Scott Cohen) who must form relationships with her stepson and the first wife who hates her (Lisa Kudrow), all while mourning her infant daughter.
Even though Portman's character did cavalierly tear her husband's first family apart (and in one uncomfortable scene, feed her lactose intolerant stepson ice cream to "prove a point" to his mother), Portman and Roos succeed in making this misguided and misunderstood character sympathetic by the end of the picture. In honor of this feat, Movieline has compiled five other "bonus" parents in film that defy the evil step-parent stereotype. Just click here to start the fun and as always, feel free to contribute your own suggestions below.