Release Date: April 26, 2011
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: Approx. 99 minutes

15-year-old Sydney Foster (Brittney Wilson, Life Unexpected) is a troubled teen from a broken home, heading for trouble. After being caught shoplifting and a bout of alcohol poisoning, her volatile behavior has finally reached a breaking point. Sydney is sent to spend the summer with her father (Paul McGillion, “Stargate: Atlantis”) who hopes to reconnect with her and introduce her to his new wife Emma (Melora Hardin, “The Office”). At first Sydney lashes out, feeling abandoned yet again – missing her boyfriend and her city life. But she slowly forms new relationships with those around her – including a local girl whose mother is dying of cancer – and begins to turn her attitude around. She unexpectedly finds herself connecting with her new stepmother, who is nervously expecting her first child. It is this relationship with her stepmother, and the birth of the new baby, that finally heals the wounds left by her parent’s bitter divorce.

What’s so great about Mom, Dad, And Her is that a broken family finally finds closure after a messy divorce that left a very confused 15 year old daughter in the middle. Sometimes parents get so wrapped up in their feelings that they don’t even think about what the child is going through and wants and needs out of this new transition from two parents together to two parents apart. Sydney shared her frustration with this problem in a number of negative ways (drinking, stealing, being disrespectful) which make her character incredibly unlikable for the majority of the film.

How can you not see that she is not the problem. You are. You and Lynn. – Emily

But once her relationship with her incredibly graceful step-mother begins to grow and a local teenager befriends her, she is encouraged to change her attitude about things, embrace her new life, and be open to healing the wounds from the divorce instead of playing the victim forever. Sydney’s mother also needed to embrace her new life as a single mother, instead of thinking about everything that needed fixing. Once she was open to healing her wounds as well, Sydney’s parents were able to have an amicable divorce ceremony with Sydney that changed everything. It’s amazing what healthy communication and closure can do for a family.

Though once you’ve seen this film once, there’s really no need to watch it again. It’s not one of Lifetime’s strongest films. It’s memorable, but not in the best way. Sure, the message is great but the execution was not as eloquent or enjoyable as it could have been. The acting was alright. The transitions between scenes were not the best. The music was terrible. There are definitely more downsides to the film than upsides, so if you take it with a grain of salt, you’ll be content with the film. Otherwise, just pass on this one.

There are no bonus features on the DVD.

Own Mom, Dad, And Her on DVD April 26, 2011.