Pass the syrup

Rating: 5/10 (13 June 2010)

As icky sweet as it is cliché-ridden, this real-life story of an unlikely mother and son proved devoid of any real tension. This is one of those premises that sounds too odd to be true on the page, but once on the screen doesn't go anywhere. Even the last-minute inquiries into the family's motivations for adopting Big Mike prove too little too late. As for Ms. Bullock, even her post-Oscar scandal seems more interesting than this slight narrative. Her performance here screams Kathy Lee Gifford on Lifetime, not Oscar winner. In fact, even Kathy Bates is in low gear here. Only the brilliant Adriane Lennox proves really memorable. Perhaps the young actor playing SJ had some moments, but they, too, seemed way to over-orchestrated and (ironically) lacking reality.