I think if kind of worked, because much like Ginger and Brigette both underwent changes in character during the film, so did Pam. She went from being bubbly, and upbeat to eventually crashing, and if only that deleted scene had been left in where she turned herself in she ultimately redeemed herself in doing so for slacking off in her parenting duties.
She definitely had her problems. You can't tell me she didn't take a swig of that alcohol in the pantry every now and again. Her marriage was falling apart, and she was too really as a result of it and other things. Finding the body of Trina was just about the last nail in the coffin and we saw kind of a different Pam from then on.
On a lighter note, I liked the dad. If anything, they both kind of remind me of my parents in a way.

I actually thought the presence of the Mother in this movie was quite dementedly funny - a mother so obsessed with her kids growing up that it practically blinds her from being an emotional support to the kids and more getting them ready for life and that's her excuse for all the Werewolf beep that happens in the film.

i agree, along with the clueless not-there-much dad, i think, like all teenage movies, it is supposed to show how parents don't know enough or do anything to try to?
The more personalities you have the less boring you are!