Penn Badgely discovers that his mother’s fiancé may not be who he claims to be in Nelson McCormick’s remake of THE STEPFATHER.
mail—they’d find what they were looking for online, or perhaps spot the culprit on AMERICA’S MOST WANTED. Writer J.S. Cardone’s adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s original screenplay successfully updates the technol- ogy and makes a sincere attempt to provide a significantly differ- ent family dynamic, but the end still fails to live up to the means. Dylan Walsh (NIP/TUCK) up- dates Terry O’Quinn’s title char- acter as “David Harris,” who, after disposing of his latest “disap- pointing” family, endears himself to newly-divorced mother Susan Harding (Sela Ward). By the time Susan’s troubled elder son Michael (GOSSIP GIRL’s Penn Badgley) returns home from mili- tary school, his mother is ready to announce her engagement to David. More than anything, David needs to keep Michael on his side—he even asks him to
serve as his best man. But ques- tions about David’s mysterious past and erratic behavior—not to mention the contents of his locked tool cabinet—prevent smooth sailing, and when Michael’s es- tranged father (Jon Tenney) re- asserts himself, something’s got to give.
The problem with the STEP-
FATHER remake isn’t that Walsh is no Terry O’Quinn (he doesn’t try to be, and his performance is fine) but that director Nelson McCormick is no Joseph Ruben; he’s no more capable of gener- ating suspense here than he was in his painfully generic in-name- only remake of PROM NIGHT (2008, also scripted by Cardone). The new STEPFATHER is far more concerned with showcas- ing a Top 40 soundtrack and emphasizing its popular young cast members; particularly Am- ber Heard as Michael’s girlfriend
Kelly, who parades around in re- vealing outfits at every conceiv- able opportunity. As a result, moments that could have been great are frittered away (watch the classic line “Who am I here?” dis- appear into a sequence that McCormick has already whipped up into manic overdrive, lest any- one fail to notice that the Stepfa- ther is losing it in front of his bride-to-be). In these days of nothing being truly “untouch- able,” a worthy remake of THE STEPFATHER could have been mounted. This wasn’t it. The “unrated director’s cut”
does not restore the “buzzsaw” scene seen in the trailer but cut from the PG-13 theatrical version. McCormick, Walsh and Badgley share an audio commentary: the Blu-ray also contains a gag reel and two “Making of” featurettes. Also available on standard DVD for $19.94.
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