This five-hanky "women's picture" was unfairly shut out of the Oscar race a few years back.  It features a mostly terrific -- and consciously sentimental -- screenplay that allows its two stars, Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, to cover new territory as actresses.  The biting, realistic dialog between two strong, competitive women resonates with the ring of truth.  The children in the movie shine throughout, and Ed Harris is, as usual, appealing, masculine, bringing gravity to his role as the man in the middle.  The Christmas settings, the snowfalls, the terminal illness, and the classic song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" all combine to produce more than a few well-earned tears, none more so than in the final ten minutes. Chris Columbus, the director, allows delicate, and sometimes not so delicate, humor, to ease the real pain of many of these well-wraught scenes.  The Hollywood gloss notwithstanding, this is one of those human, heartfelt explorations into some unchartered territory.  If you love movies you can cry with, you'll love Stepmom.