The Steps, written by Robyn Harding and directed by Andrew Currie

The Steps, written by Robyn Harding and directed by Andrew Currie

A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E  and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

The Steps is a very good Canadian production.

And the cast is excellent:

-          James Brolin as the father who is past middle age- Ed

-          Christine Lahti as the new wife od Ed, mother of a few strange and adult children

Keith is one of them and he has an addiction, portrayed very well by Steven McCarthy

Benjamin Arthur plays another son, David.

The new family gets together near a beautiful lake.

And the large house, nearly a mansion is fabulous.

Jacuzzi, pool and all the amenities, the comfort are enticing.

Ed has been making a lot of money in his life.

And it is his house.

Alas, he was not a good father.

Jeff, his son is somewhat estranged

Jason Ritter is very good in his role.

Emmanuelle Chiriqui has the role of Jeff’s sister, Marla.

The opinion they have of their mother is not favorable…

To say the least.

In fact, one comic scene has them discovering the past of Sherry.

The conversation between step daughter and new mother is not cordial.

At one point, an unusual tattoo is visible on the behind of the older woman and she explains the meaning:

-          It is a cross between a dolphin and an unicorn, a narwhal…words to that effect

A little later, Marla is in her brother’s room and she is curious about the contents of his laptop, on which he has…porn

-          All men watch porn

-          MILFs?

And as such coincidences tend to happen in movies; the file she opens has sex scenes and a woman on her knees involved in felatio.

On her back, there is a…narwhal.

And yet, it is their new mother!!

The dynamic between new family members is tense and revelations, accusations and funny situations abound.

There is even a paintball game or hunt, whatever the proper name is and the casualties increase the animosity.

A nadir appears to have been reached and the aggressiveness is brought to a climax, insults are proffered.

Poor Keith takes a whole bottle of gin, in spite of the fact that he is on probation and he is wearing a controlling device.

I don’t know how, but as soon as he imbibes alcohol, the police station is alerted and officers come to take him away.

And there is a little charming girl, even I liked her and I do not enjoy the presence of children- at least in my area, they are naughty, rude, loud and allowed to do anything they like and that is generally to drive me crazy.

Her name is Mingmei and she is supposed to be adopted by Sherry and Ed, but only after a talk with a special envoy.

This being a comedy, the woman who has to approve the adoption and certify that the family will take good care of the girl, arrives at exactly the wrong moment, when the family is in maximum turmoil.

It obviously looks like they will be denied the approval for adoption, but even worse, that there is no family to welcome Mingmei into.

Excellent comedy.