The Stepsister (1997)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Excellent but underrated film

Better Late Then Never

Movies involving crime and legal drama have to have some license to depart from the way things are done in the actual world. In real trials, the attorneys usually remain behind a lectern, and upon presentation of exhibits and after every second or third question, there are usually objections from opposing counsel and repeated conferences are held privately with the judge, and witnesses are laboriously questioned for hours on-end.Yet "Matlock" pulls a piece of evidence from his pocket, waves it in front of the witness (who is about six inches from him), takes it to the jury box and shows it to all 12 (all before the judge or opposing counsel have any idea of what in the hell he has); if there is any objection, he simply tells the judge to give him another moment, the judge agrees, the witness is shown to be the guilty party, his client is exonerated, and then the D.A. congratulates him on the victory. And all of this occurs usually in under 10 minutes real time at the end of the episode.So we know most dramas have to take liberties with reality, and this film is no exception. Aside from the patent obviousness of the nefarious nature of the wicked "stepsister," which a child of 10 could see, there is no way in real life the daughter of the murdered man would have been summarily arrested and held as depicted here.She might have been detained for a period of time, but in the film, there was no investigation by the authorities into the "septsister" and her mother's past, their history, etc. Neither the police nor the accused daughter's lawyer seemed to have the intelligence or inclination to do any investigating whatever.All of the investigative activity is later pursued by the daughter alone -- concerning her late father's death, and the past of the title character and her mother. Again, in the "real world," many authorities would have conducted thorough investigations early-on, and upon the the stepsister's mom's subsequent demise, further effort would have ensued, undoubtedly seeing justice done, without the mayhem and false accusation which the heroine had to endure during the last half or so of the story.But then, it would have looked more like a Court TV documentary instead of a Lifetime movie, and one of this network's handful of staples "the evil outsider(s) entering a happy family unit to commit mayhem and steal the inheritance of the rightful heir(s)." (Others include "the evil neighbor," "the spouse with the dark, secret past," "the spouse faking death, only to turn-up years later," etc.)One only wishes that occasionally they might treat a story such as this in a bit more cerebral manner, perhaps taking a cue from series like "Law and Order," "CSI," in investigating and resolving the issues, instead of the steady staple of yelling, physical confrontation, and the inevitable holes in the plot which have supposedly intelligent characters zooming around madly and senselessly -- while the attorneys and police schlep about, listlessly, and with no intelligence, or effort to investigate or resolve matters.

What can I say about this movie. It is a great mystery suspense movie starring rena sofer. Rena left her emmy winning role on general hospital to do tv and movies, and she did the right thing. Linda Evans returns to tv also. If you love a good mystery, watch this movie!!!!!

The Stepsister is a brilliant movie about a money grabbing woman named Joan who with a little help from her daughter, marries men, then kills them covering up the murders and then gets all there money. But, when Joan ends up falling in love with one of the men she's supposed to kill, her evil daughter, Melinda makes a cunning plan to kill them all and get the money for herself. She has to get past the mans daughter, Darcie though, who's very suspicious and knows something is up the minute she meets Joan and Melinda.Rena Sofer who plays the lead role here is brilliant as usual and is fast becoming one of my all time favourite actress'. Linda Evans who plays Joan is also good too. The only complaint I have is, Bridgette Wilson. She really doesn't do a job in her role. She's just whiny and annoying. Still, not even that can spoil this original suspense thriller.If you want to see a great thriller which keeps you interested all the way than The Stepsister is for you and I give it a 10/10.

I just recently watched this movie on USA, and I have to say it is great, Bridgette Wilson did an excellent performence. Everyone should check thier TV guide's for this movie.