Glass House: The Good Mother (2006)

Absolutely Brilliant!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Despite Angie Harmon's decent performance as a mother who suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- in the extreme -- there is no reason to waste two hours of your life watching this absurd movie. Ms. Harmon's skillful interpretation of a demented, murderous psychopath cannot offset a ridiculous script. The plot involves a wealthy couple who adopt two children, a little boy and a teenage girl. They are occupants of a Gothic mansion in an undisclosed location. Almost immediately, the teenager suspects something is amiss with this couple, but unlike most teenagers who manage to get out of the house when they want to, this one is somehow unable to do so, even to get help to save her life and that of her little brother. The fact that this is a low-budget effort becomes evident when, although the couple live in a huge house with presumably quite a bit of property, no household or grounds help or service providers ever make an appearance. Nor do any relatives, friends, neighbors or business associates show up. The children do not go to school, so no classmates, teachers, school administrators or social workers come poking around. The sole outside person is a police officer who is clueless as to the situation in which the children have been placed. Apparently no background checks were done or it would have been revealed that not only did the couple's little son die, but they also adopted another little boy whose whereabouts are unknown. This information should have given someone pause before providing these lunatics with additional children to dispose of. We're not told how the couple manages to afford such a grand home, although mom is supposedly a nurse, which makes it convenient for her to make her children very ill so she can nurse them back to health -- before she repeats the cycle. As the improbable story drags on, it focuses on mom's jealousy of the teenager and her vicious treatment of her. Although the teen attempts to contact the outside world regarding her plight, she has to be the only teen on the planet who cannot manage to get out a phone call, text message or email. The husband is a complete wimp under the spell of his deranged wife, powerless to stop her as she continues her vendetta against the young girl and repeatedly makes the little boy extremely ill. Ultimately, a light bulb goes off over the police officer's head, and he calls for help, which arrives only after he is attacked and the woman and girl battle it out. The battle culminates when, after being terrorized by Ms. Harmon's character, our teen girl merely pushes her down the stairs. But, still, the mother-of-the-year does not die until -- surprise -- father-of-the-year puts a bullet in her. To her credit, Jordan Hinson, who plays the teen, did not do an eye roll when the whole mess ended.

High class intense melodrama which had my attention.Mother loses child and adopts two as replacement; yet the mother and her husband have dark secrets in a house full of them. And on one level this film goes further than child endangerment but into child cruelty and worse.Excellent photography, generally very good direction with a few blimps near the end.Super performances from the two female leads which makes the film.The actress playing the mother is sensationally "bad".Worthy of a sound: 7/10.

From the first five minutes of this show, the ending was clear. The plot isn't in any way original or inventive. There were no twists to keep the interest of the audience. The pace was slow. There wasn't any rise or fall in the action. Even the high action scenes were painful due to their extreme predictability. The music contributed to the somber, slow tone of it all, and brings Chinese Water Torture to mind. The characterizations were extremely simple. The characters at the beginning didn't change or grow through their experiences. They didn't seem real in any way. The acting wasn't horrible. There just wasn't any fleshing out that could be done with the script or the action. This has to be a writing issue, but shame on Angie Harmon and director Steve Antin for agreeing to be a part of such an awful movie. Still, the real shame has to belong to the writer for this awful script. YUCK! The only positive was the acting of the teenage lead, Jordan Hinson. Her acting (and character) was most believable. Still, one word describes this movie best: tedious. I kept on waiting for it to get better; I waited until the ending credits rolled.

I rent a lot of movies. I find some unexpected gems, a lot that get categorized as idle entertainment, and some that make me curse myself for renting movies in the first place. This movie solidly fits into the idle entertainment category, as I could see the end result taking shape way too early in the viewing process. Without giving away anything, the one thing that stands out in this movie is the acting of Jordan Hinson. She was cast as what she is...a teenager. But throughout the entire movie, she goes above and beyond what (I would think) would normally be expected, and delivers an outstanding performance. I think she was the true star of the movie, though you have to look at the fine print on the back of the DVD to find her name. If you want to see a diamond in the rough, look here. She makes the movie worth viewing.