Glass House: The Good Mother

One year after losing their son David, Eve Goode (Angie Harmon) and her husband Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch) adopt the orphan Ethan Snow (Bobby Coleman) and his teenager sister Abby Snow (Jordan Hinson) and bring them to their mansion nearby a lake. Abby faces difficulties of adaptation in her new home, and she confronts Eve, who proves to be deranged and unstable. When Ethan gets sick, Abby tries to contact their friend, detective Ben Koch (Jason London), and she realizes that her brother and she are trapped in the house.

"The Good Mother" is predictable, full of clichés, but still a reasonable B-movie. The story has a tense beginning, but there is no previous development of the characters Abby and Ethan Snow or Ben Koch. The viewer does not know who they are or their relationship. The attitude of Abby when she moves to her foster house is totally ungrateful and unfair with her stepparents that gives a magnificent room in a wonderful house, triggering the insanity of Eve. It is difficult to understand teenagers most of the times, but there is no explanation for the feelings of Abby when she moves to the Goode's house without a previous development of her character. In the end, the forgettable "The Good Mother" is an enjoyable entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa de Vidro 2" ("The House of Glass 2")

An orphaned teen girl (Jordan Hinson) & her little brother start a new life in remote Simi Valley, Ca, with their adoptive parents (Angie Harmon & Joel Gretsch), a seemingly-ideal couple who tragically lost their son a year earlier. Jason London is on hand as the kid's acting-godfather.

"Glass House: The Good Mother" (2006) naturally has a similar plot to the first film, but the kids are a little younger here and, as the title implies, the mother is now the key adversary. Being a direct-to-video release it lacks the budget of the first film with Leelee Sobieski and Stellan Skarsgård (2001) and therefore lacks the theatrical pizazz thereof, having a Lifetime movie vibe.

As with that first movie, the awesome mansion itself is a highlight, located just a dozen miles north of the Glass manor used in the previous flick (in real-life). Unlike the first film, however, the actors are all no-names. Yet they rise to the challenge, especially Harmon as the increasingly not-good mother and Hinson as the formidable girl, who essentially becomes the "final girl" à la slasher flicks.

Not that this is a horror movie, but there is that element. It's more realistic than the conventional slasher, which typically involve some eye-rolling psycho wearing a mask and brandishing a machete, etc. Here, the diabolic individual is more every-day and perfectly harmless on the surface, which somehow makes it more chilling.

The flick effectively addresses the mental illness factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), aka Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP). These types of psychos actually exist, unfortunately.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Simi Valley, Ca, with some stuff done in Hollywood.

GRADE: C

When a sequel is direct to video and ups the ante to a 'R' rating, shouldn't the audience hope for a more salacious and violent viewing experience? Unfortunately, with the perpetually stern and severe, though gorgeous, Angie Harmon starring, those hopes are laid to rest. Whereas the original was proud of its B-roots and had an excellent slimy, perverted performance from Stellan Skaarsgaard...this film actually wants the audience to take the plot of a grieiving mother gone overprotective gone crazy, seriously. The original had a PG-13 rating, and yet delighted in ingénue Leelee Sobieski's nubile, well-developed frame while providing its audience with delightful action and a propulsive narrative. In this poor sequel, we get a whiny prudish protagonist, very little violence, and stultefyingly lame tension. The original was set in that amazingly austere cold house, made of actual glass. "The Glass House 2: the Good Mother" instead employs its characters in an adobe-styled Spanish château, which leads me to the poor choice of cinematography. The allegiance to using a gold-hued tint to add Latina flair to the visuals was poor decision-making especially considering the milquetoast energies enemating from the acting crew. (There are white people still in Cali, y'know.) I like Joel Gretsch, but when Jason London has more inner force than any of the other talent, "Houston, we may have a problem."

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.

Plot done over and over and over again. This one no different than any other. Evil woman who gets away with murder and empty headed men who go along with the stupidity. Again we're supposed to believe women can be evil and men can be patsies. Brett Merryman wrote this crap and Steve Antin directed not so good actors. Angie Harmon gets boring along the way with this constant evil stare all the time. Joel Gretsch as her doting vacant husband goes around whining all the time. Then there's the children played by Jordan Hinson and Bobby London. London spends most of the time sick in bed and Hinson seems to be running around in circles looking for a way out. But never seems to find the door. Jason London plays a detective without a clue. Of course he gets it from the witch mother. So there you have it. A trite not so original LMN movie with the same theme, the same bitchy women, and the same weak men. Typical LMN crap.