Glass House: The Good Mother (2006 Video) User Reviews

"A Mother's Love Is Unconditional" --- Tagline For "Glass House: The Good Mother"

[Robert_Hearth · 5/10 · 3 December 2006]

"Glass House: The Good Mother" (2006)

Directed By: Steve Antin

Starring: Angie Harmon, Joel Gretsch, Jordan Hinson, Bobby Coleman, & Jason London

MPAA Rating: "R" (for some violence, terrorizing situations involving children, and language)

In 2001, a sleek and stylish thriller, starring Leelee Sobieski and Diane Lane, named "The Glass House" opened to mediocre reviews. Its box-office gross was equally mediocre…so you can imagine my surprise when I heard that a straight-to-video sequel would be made. Now, I liked "The Glass House" due to its great casting, its slick appearance, and its intriguing concept, but it just wasn't the type of movie that warranted a sequel. Then I learned that it would have no connections to the original and that it was basically a sequel in name only and any hope I had (not much) fell off the face of the earth. It would take a lot to make this sequel worthwhile…and that "lot" came in the form of Angie Harmon. Harmon is a phenomenal actress and completely aced her twisted and complicated role. While the movie as a whole is patchy, Harmon makes it work…somehow.

Abby (Hinson) and Ethan (Coleman) Snow just recently lost their parents and need a place to live and guardians to care for them. Eve (Harmon) and Raymond (Gretsch) Goode just lost their son and are not ready to stop being parents. Thus, it seems as though they are perfect matches and, for a little while, they are. However, soon Abby becomes annoyed by Eve's overbearing attitude and the two begin a series of arguments that reaches its peak with Eve slapping Abby. Soon, everything spirals out of control and Ethan falls seriously ill. Eve refuses to take Ethan to the hospital, demanding that she be able to care for her at home. Abby realizes that this is not the first time Eva and Ray have adopted children that have fallen ill, but she refuses to let her younger brother end up like the other children…all of whom did not escape the Goode family.

The performances in "Glass House: The Good Mother" are okay. Angie Harmon blew me away, but her performance really is the only one that did so. Harmon was just phenomenal. Joel Gretsch was a mixed bag here. At times, he seemed dead on with his performance. At others, he was just a little flat. Overall, it was an okay performance--nothing spectacular, but just adequate enough (for a straight-to-video film, that is). Jordan Hinson was also a little uneven, giving an emotional performance in some scenes and a dull performance in others. It seems to be a trend with this movie for the actors and actresses to give patchy performances. Jason London seems to be settling very comfortably into the straight-to-video market. It's unfortunate, because I saw promise from him in "The Rage: Carrie 2" (he and Emily Bergl were the only good thing about that horrendous movie). Here, I can still see the promise, it's just almost completely wasted on a nothing part. It's so unfortunate.

"Glass House: The Good Mother" displays excellent cinematography and a glossy, stylized direction that brings a certain elegance and beauty to the film. Angie Harmon gives a great performance and the concept is far creepier than that of the original. However, the plot is stretched a little too thin in many places and the movie becomes quite redundant. We get that Eve is crazy and we know that Abby hates her. There was no need to keep hammering it into the audience's brains. Also, the ending was just so…disappointing. It was cheesy, clichéd, and didn't fit the rest of the movie. It just seemed tacked on. Overall, "Glass House: The Good Mother" is an okay movie, good for a straight-to-video movie, but not amazing. Somehow, it does work, though, and that is enough…I guess.

Final Thought: "Glass House: The Good Mother" is an okay straight-to-video film, though nothing great.

Overall Rating: 5/10 (B-)

A new actress makes this movie work

[downsized99 · 5/10 · 4 March 2007]

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.

Predictable, Full of Clichés, but Still a Reasonable B-Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 12 January 2007]

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")

Good premise falls flat

[M-Ols · 3/10 · 19 May 2008]

The premise, an insane uber-mother doles out practiced physical abuse, is a fairly sound launching point for this suspense thriller. The story is well-structured and the dialog is better than its B-movie status. The principle cast does what they can with what they're given and the cinematography & lighting are top-notch.

However, the direction and editing are horrible. The director has no sense of mise-en-scene; every shot is crowded. The camera is ever-moving with "look at me, I went to film school" joy. The editing was overly busy. Every single transition was hallmarked with an establishing shot of the house's exterior.

Had the camera settled down, and the story (not editing) carried the pace this would've been a much better film.

Jordan Hinson, a young actress, holds the film's center very well.

Bottomline: Not worth watching.

Fatal Attraction meets Psycho meets The Stepford Wives

[TequilaMockingbird63 · 7/10 · 28 September 2006]

First before I start with my comment I have to say I oddly have NEVER seen Angie Harmon (who plays the mother/wife Eve Goode) act. but WOW, I WAS IMPRESSED and will look for her in future.

Looking amazingly like Ali MacGraw in Love Story she was beautiful yet calculating, creepy and just plain deranged. A perfect female villain ala Fatal Attraction meets Psycho meets The Stepford Wives. Things begin innocently enough with a mysterious disappearance of a little boy, the son of seemingly loving parents but before long we sense not all is right with this mother. Lets just say she loves her cleaning supplies!

We next meet two children who have apparently just lost their parents and (although a little unclear in the plot) are Fostered by the mourning parents "the Goodes" (clever title juxtaposition). Before long Eves evil ways start to show (the dish washing scene is particularly disturbing) the Teenage girl clashes with the tight "house rules" and as her little brother begins to mysteriously get sick the rebellious protective sister's suspicion begins.

WARNING ****PROBABLY CONTAINS BIG SPOILERS*****

Based on characters created by Wesley Strick (who wrote the screenplay for "Cape Fear" and "Arachnophobia") I was intrigued to research Munchausen's Syndrome or Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. the disease we find the creepy lead character "may" have.

Background on the disease: From 1972 to 1985, all 9 children of Marybeth Tinning of Schenectady, N.Y. died in infancy. At first, friends and physicians assumed they were victims of "crib death" or an inexplicable genetic flaw. As the deaths continued, suspicion mounted against the mother, who was always alone when her babies were stricken. It's oddly more common than people are aware. basically Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy is where women kill their own children for the attention they receive.

This was a pretty good film but i have to say a few things frustrated me - number 1 - why would hubby played by the handsome Joel Gretsch go along and seemingly "cover" his wife's psychotic behavior as if he was almost an accomplice and 2, why the Caseworker (played by a very likable Tasha Smith) did not pick up the fact apparently "several" kids have died or gone missing under the care of this couple.

Enjoyable enough it will be worth watching as a Movie of the Week on Television someday. 7 out of 10 stars.

Dreadful Low-Budget Drek

[jeannel2003-618-511281 · 1/10 · 21 August 2010]

Despite Angie Harmon's decent performance as a mother who suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- in the extreme -- there is no reason to waste two hours of your life watching this absurd movie. Ms. Harmon's skillful interpretation of a demented, murderous psychopath cannot offset a ridiculous script. The plot involves a wealthy couple who adopt two children, a little boy and a teenage girl. They are occupants of a Gothic mansion in an undisclosed location. Almost immediately, the teenager suspects something is amiss with this couple, but unlike most teenagers who manage to get out of the house when they want to, this one is somehow unable to do so, even to get help to save her life and that of her little brother. The fact that this is a low-budget effort becomes evident when, although the couple live in a huge house with presumably quite a bit of property, no household or grounds help or service providers ever make an appearance. Nor do any relatives, friends, neighbors or business associates show up. The children do not go to school, so no classmates, teachers, school administrators or social workers come poking around. The sole outside person is a police officer who is clueless as to the situation in which the children have been placed. Apparently no background checks were done or it would have been revealed that not only did the couple's little son die, but they also adopted another little boy whose whereabouts are unknown. This information should have given someone pause before providing these lunatics with additional children to dispose of. We're not told how the couple manages to afford such a grand home, although mom is supposedly a nurse, which makes it convenient for her to make her children very ill so she can nurse them back to health -- before she repeats the cycle. As the improbable story drags on, it focuses on mom's jealousy of the teenager and her vicious treatment of her. Although the teen attempts to contact the outside world regarding her plight, she has to be the only teen on the planet who cannot manage to get out a phone call, text message or email. The husband is a complete wimp under the spell of his deranged wife, powerless to stop her as she continues her vendetta against the young girl and repeatedly makes the little boy extremely ill. Ultimately, a light bulb goes off over the police officer's head, and he calls for help, which arrives only after he is attacked and the woman and girl battle it out. The battle culminates when, after being terrorized by Ms. Harmon's character, our teen girl merely pushes her down the stairs. But, still, the mother-of-the-year does not die until -- surprise -- father-of-the-year puts a bullet in her. To her credit, Jordan Hinson, who plays the teen, did not do an eye roll when the whole mess ended.

Its a very entertaining effort

[daisydebbiedo · 7/10 · 27 September 2006]

I must admit i did think this might be just another of those dreary drag along movies. But I can honestly say its not. Angie Harmon plays a very convincing role as a troubled mother & keeps you squirming in your seat. Shes backed up well by Joel Gretsch as her doting husband, with a very fine performance from unknown Jordon Hinson. The plot it self is a very simple one & its been seen before in a number of good movies, but this doesn't take anything away from the excitement or suspense. The characters all develop well as the story unfolds, & still gives you a ending with a surprise twist. Its a very entertaining effort, its no blockbuster but I,m sure it will be well received in video stores.

Fairly Awful

[JillClarke2 · 3/10 · 4 December 2010]

All in all, Glass House: The Good Mother was a rather dull film, in spite of the coolest looking house outside of Haunted Hill. Don't get me wrong, it had potential, but week writing and some rather silly acting kept it from getting off of the starter block.

== Here there be spoilers == The plot is straight forward. A demented mother and her husband (who acted more like a vampire's thrall) like to adopt children. The problem lies in the fact that the mother (played by Angie Harmon) also likes to make them sick in order to score mommy brownie points. The film picks up between adopted child 4 and the new batch (Abby and Evan). Things go down hill fast, for both the kids and the viewers. There were some truly creepy parts, mostly focusing on Angie Harmon talking to her new pet projects in a simpering tone, or showing up at random behind Abby (something that probably terrified Jack McCoy on Law and Order).

Mommie Dearest..... in a House full of Secrets

[rbrb · 7/10 · 10 December 2008]

High class intense melodrama which had my attention.

Mother loses child and adopts two as replacement; yet the mother and her husband have dark secrets in a house full of them. And on one level this film goes further than child endangerment but into child cruelty and worse.

Excellent photography, generally very good direction with a few blimps near the end.

Super performances from the two female leads which makes the film.

The actress playing the mother is sensationally "bad".

Worthy of a sound: 7/10.

Small scale in more than one way

[Wizard-8 · 20 June 2014]

I have never seen the original "The Glass House" movie, so I can't say how this sequel compares to the original. But I do have the advantage of judging this sequel on its own merits. Actually, from what I have heard of the original movie, this is more of a remake than a sequel. And a not particularly expensive remake, I must say. While the movie doesn't look downright cheap, it does show a limited budget from shooting almost all the movie in one location to the grainy cinematography. (Though there is some impressive camera movement.) But the sort of low rent feel of the enterprise is not the real problem here. The movie feels kind of limp, with few thrills - you'll really feel that it's just going through the motions instead of trying to grab the audience by the throat. Another big mistake is that the movie fails to get the audience to have sympathy for the teenage protagonist - she comes across as kind of sullen and grumpy even before things start going wrong for her and her brother. To add to the problems are some glaring unanswered questions, like who the intruder was outside in the first part of the movie, or why the couple acted the way they did in the opening scene, which doesn't make sense after what we eventually learn. In the end, this is a movie to skip watching.

The original's fare more entertaining

[jboyaquar · 3/10 · 21 March 2007]

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."

Damned scary, stellar cast & BEAUTIFUL photography

[snowdog-14 · 10/10 · 20 October 2006]

Having lived with an abusive stepparent, this hit the nail bang on the head. DAMNED scary. Soundtrack was nice, acting superb all around, and the photography lush and brilliantly planned.

Actually, I'd rate this as an 8.5, because the enabling stepfather was just a little TOO accommodating, although the writing is otherwise well-crafted. The reason I gave this a ten is to offset the overly biased previous postings which don't give this movie its due. The visuals are truly stunning, the sets gorgeous, and the camera-work clever and innovative.

Oh, and the actresses are unbelievably beautiful. The "stepmother" is a latter-day Ali McGraw, and it's testament to her talent that she can go from dazzlingly, breathtakingly sexy to skin-crawlingly scary within a matter of seconds.

The "stepdaughter" is also great, absolutely believable and so pretty and vulnerable you know she's going to be a major heartbreaker as she matures.

Don't listen to the negative voices. Judge for yourself. A solid, high-tension, superbly-crafted thriller.

(And no, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved.)

Thrilling

[Mizu_wolf4102 · 6/10 · 12 January 2007]

Well, after seeing "The Good Mother" my heart was still racing. It was basically about,grieving mother,Eve Goode and her obsessive desire to be a caring, protective, loving, healing mother, who's recent victims happen to be recently orphaned Abby and Ethan Snow. Abby soon finds out that her foster mother's obsessive desire is as extreme as it is deadly, when she finds out her foster mother's frightening secret.

Sequel to The Glass House, which itself was entertaining, "The Good Mother" fit along well with the previous plot. It was quite close to being the same thing.

I personally enjoyed the film, It was suspenseful at times and very interesting.The acting was good and the emotion was evident.I recommend it, to all who enjoy suspenseful,and thrilling films with a little bite to it.

Perfect for Lifetime, Way Imperfect for the Rest of Us

[pv71989-1 · 4/10 · 2 July 2011]

I came across this movie on the Lifetime Movie Network this past Saturday while scrolling the channels. I probably should have flipped back to "Quatermass and The Pit" on TCM or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" on AMC.

Anyway, this movie, which is an "in name only" sequel to the less-than-stellar "Glass House," concerns Eve (Angie Harmon) and Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch), who have just lost their son David. They become foster parents to Abby (Jordan Hinson) and Ethan (Bobby Coleman).

Right off the bat, Eve, who suffers from Munchausen's Syndrome, goes overboard in being a good mother, to the point of being psychotic. She ultimately terrorizes the children by stitching up wounds with no anesthesia, "curing" rashes with oven cleaner, etc.

You can read other reviews for the gist of the story. Harmon is an amazing actress. However, she is hampered by her goody-two shoes image. It's hard to imagine her as a villain, especially when she almost comically snarls, rears back and gives Abby a Steffi Graf-level backhand.

Hinson is adequate as Abby. Gretsch is completely useless as the spineless hubby Ray and the actor annoys by being up and down in his performance, as if he's following the director's cue every moment.

The worst part of the movie is the entire premise. The Goodes are wealthy yet we never see them at work, though Eve is supposed to be a nurse. We don't know what Ray does but the pair have a huge Gothic-style mansion and a large estate. Yet, we see no groundskeepers, no maids, no gardeners.

We learn the Goodes took in another kid before David but he simply disappeared. But, no one from Child Services bothers to ask what happened to him before giving the Goodes more kids to destroy.

The kids don't go to school, yet no one comes around to ask. Even worse, Abby never leaves the grounds. She doesn't do anything a normal teen girl does -- call friends, make friends, head to the mall, hang out, text. She doesn't even make phone calls to the police to alert them to what's happening to her.

The movie is low-budget which hampers the director's ability to have the police come out in force. However, that doesn't excuse the director from doing common sense things to give his film credibility.

Finally, the ending is totally contrived and uses just about every cliché in the Hollywood suburban thriller handbook. Abby can't do anything to get out of the house. The lone cop (Jason London) never calls for backup even after discovering a body. Eve is kicked down a flight of stairs and cracks her head -- twice. Yet, is up and brandishing a cleaver with no ill effects. Even Ray, the spineless hubby, finally grows one and saves the day with a gun out of nowhere.

The whole movie would fit neatly into the Lifetime network's brand of tear-jerker, damsel in improbably danger kind of plot. For the rest of us, it's just lazy, clichéd and imperfect.

couldn't watch more than 35 minutes before quitting due to extreme boredom

[disdressed12 · 2/10 · 1 November 2007]

this movie has nothing to do with the first one.the actors and the characters are different.it starts out promising but quickly sputters.i could only watch it for about 35 minutes.i just found it way too slow and boring.Angie Harmon make for a compelling villain,except we are only given glimpses into her character.i know i hadn't watched it very long,but i just expected something more.i felt no tension or suspense and to be honest,i really didn't care about what happened.to me,it was just that uninteresting and not compelling.maybe sometime in the future i will attempt to watch the whole movie.in which case this review may or may not change,but as it stands,i give Glass House:The Good Mother a 2/10,based on Angie Harmon.

It was pretty good!

[cornflowersandcolour · 7/10 · 23 June 2007]

Well, I think it was a pretty good movie. It was done well, and had great acting. The story was very well written, except for the ending. But I think it should have been called "The good mother" and not "Glass house 2: The good mother". It's not about the same people, and has NOTHING to do with Glass House. Some parts of this movie weren't explained well. In the "deleted scenes" section of the DVD it says Abby and Ethan's parents were shot while some one robbed them. I think it wasn't a very good idea doing that because while I was watching it, all I could of was "How did their parents die?". The other thing I would like to know is what happened to Abby, Ethan, and the police man? Did he adopt them? What happened? That's what I would like to know.

All in all, this is a good movie. I recommend it to a lot of people who like these kinds of movies!

Glass House: The Bad Movie

[anxietyresister · 3/10 · 4 August 2008]

In this sequel to the mediocre original, another teenage girl and young boy get adopted by a creepy couple after their parents pass away. At first, their new life seems idyllic, but as in the first film, things aren't always as they seem, and there are a few skeletons busting to come out of the closet.

Okay, for a start the main problem here is there is not a sympathetic character in the film. Mom is a psycho, Dad is a doormat, Abby (the girl) is a total biatch and the young lad has so few scenes we barely know what to think of him. Also, from the beginning it's pretty obvious that everything about this place spells *CREEPY* and yet, it takes Abby more than an hour of the movie to bother doing anything about it. That's after her foster mother purposely leaves broken glass in the sink for her to cut herself with, drugs her with tranquilisers so she spends days at a time in her room and forbids her to leave the house or speak to anyone on the phone. Even when her brother falls MYSTERIOUSLY ILL with 'food poisoning' and crazy mom won't take him to the hospital, she still doesn't twig. Fortunately, there's a convenient bedroom full of evidence of her past crimes and... Oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you're going to watch it, I suppose you want to discover the 'surprises' all by yourself. Lucky you.

The acting all round ranges from average to deplorable (especially in the later sections when things get REALLY over the top), there isn't an unpredictable plot twist in the script and most of the occurrences happened in the original, anyway. So why not do yourself a favour, see The Glass House again instead? Save yourself a rental fee. Or better yet, why not just dump both movies and go watch something classic from that Master Of Suspense himself, Sir Alfred Hitchcock? I recommend North By Northwest or The Birds. No, they weren't made this century, but I tell you what.. they beat ten shades of poo out of today's so-called thrillers. Exhibit A: this film. Life is short, after all.. 3/10

Same old LMN dribble

[guil12 · 14 October 2009]

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.

the horror mother

[dromasca · 6/10 · 18 November 2006]

Labelled as sequel, 'The Good Mother' stands by itself as one of the surprisingly solid horror movies of the season. Two orphaned kids are taken in care by a pair who lost their boy one year before. The setting - 'Psycho'-like shaped lonely house by a lake - should already make you feel that the parents are not what they are and that the kids will end fighting for their lives. So it is.

Although the story has some obvious flaws (should a woman be trusted with yet another child custody after three sons dies before one after the other?) the film has quality in its cinema and acting. Angie Harmon and Jordan Hinson are very good in the main female roles. The story has a good pace, and despite its rather expected ending makes it certainly for a good rental.

Glass house should not have been in the title of this so called sequel

[reeves2002 · 3/10 · 8 October 2006]

I had a feeling I may not enjoy this film because a lot of straight to DVD sequels are bad.I think I would have enjoyed this movie more if the name "Glass house" was not associated with it.This movie should have only been called "the good mother".It was not a sequel to the first one at all,and had nothing at all to do with a glass house and was like watching a made for TV movie.It had no plot and the story was rushed.The deleted scenes were almost better.They were good and explained more of the story so i don't understand why they were deleted to begin with. Just like the beginning of the story being rushed,the ending sucked as well.It never explained what becomes of the girl and her brother after their rotten experience with the foster parents.Also there was a back story mentioned near the beginning of the movie that was never mentioned or addressed again. The whole movie was very unrealistic and I am angry it was called Glass house 2.I really liked the 1st one because it had a plot,the characters were believable,it had a nice thunderstorm and atmosphere, and it had an acceptable ending.Even if this bad sequel had a small budget,again it should never have been associated with the 1st one period!

don't waste your time!

[lizzy-cunningham · 1/10 · 9 May 2008]

From the first five minutes of this show, the ending was clear. The plot isn't in any way original or inventive. There were no twists to keep the interest of the audience. The pace was slow. There wasn't any rise or fall in the action. Even the high action scenes were painful due to their extreme predictability. The music contributed to the somber, slow tone of it all, and brings Chinese Water Torture to mind. The characterizations were extremely simple. The characters at the beginning didn't change or grow through their experiences. They didn't seem real in any way.

The acting wasn't horrible. There just wasn't any fleshing out that could be done with the script or the action. This has to be a writing issue, but shame on Angie Harmon and director Steve Antin for agreeing to be a part of such an awful movie. Still, the real shame has to belong to the writer for this awful script. YUCK! The only positive was the acting of the teenage lead, Jordan Hinson. Her acting (and character) was most believable. Still, one word describes this movie best: tedious. I kept on waiting for it to get better; I waited until the ending credits rolled.

you go harmon

[wrlang · 8/10 · 15 January 2007]

Glass House: The Good Mother is about a couple who adopt children and kill them. Harmon does a great job as a Munchausen by Proxy mom that gets her adopted kids sick and then nurses them to death. The husband seems OK, but loves his wife so much he lets her get away with the killings and even helps her at times. Their hands are full when they get a little boy and his teenage sister who are good friends with a cop. They go quickly from an idyllic lifestyle to caged kids as Harmon takes control of every part of the kid's life. Triple locked doors and social workers who couldn't tell their butts from a hole in the ground. Things get worse from there as the young brother gets sick and doesn't get better.

Tried to give this move a chance

[mrandrewreeves · 2/10 · 2 July 2022]

I was ready to watch something else 15-20 mins into the movie. I was hopeful but way too much exaggerated acting from the main characters. It was theatrical with too much dramatic gestures.

An idyllic house (mansion) is not necessarily a home

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 8 August 2019]

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

Just Another Bad Momma Movie

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 4/10 · 28 October 2021]

Another retread of the bad mother plot. This one of course involves a foster family that has some issues. It's shot well, acted alright, but the story has been done so much it's just not really that much of a contribution. There's no great lines or great scenes. Overall, 4/10.