Slant Magazine

Thanks to Slant, I don't think I'll EVER forget this film. Everytime it springs to mind (while first I'll make sure to flash back to what Roger Ebert said about how Vaughn's character was turned into a nearly supernaturally unkillable monster), I'll remember it as the moment Ed Gonzalez went insane. Nobody saw this film as a joke. People either took it seriously—thinking it was a realistic portrayal of a father robbed of his right to make decisions in the son's life by a typical woman (just can't trust a bitch, can ya?)—or rolled their eyes during the whole thing because they knew it was too far beyond ridiculous to come back to planet Earth. I'm childish enough to put myself in the kid's position and weird enough to appreciate a potential dark rape fantasy situation (otherwise, why would pointing out the pervasiveness of Frank's malice be a plus for the movie?). But even then, I got more kicks out of Vaughn's bizarre domination ritual in Clay Pigeons (isn't it better with a friend?).

He was such a poorly set-up cliche here as a not-so-dirty Stepfather (and standing in Terry O'Quinn's shadow, he's got a lot to learn). I really did feel like I was watching a Lifetime TV movie, and you get the same amount of real-life accuracy there. And funnier titles too. Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? Or, Student Seduction (poor woman...yeah sure- what a nightmare). Bad precedents set here, all around. O'Leary becomes a victim again in Frailty, Vaughn's sex appeal goes down even more, and Teri Polo racks up another quasi-dumb woman stereotype. She played an equally easy to manipulate mannequin in Meet the Parents (how about you stand by your man BEFORE your father tries to have him exiled?). Whatever happened to the Maura Tierney type? When she made decisions that affected other people, she actually listened to them, was funny and didn't let anyone else control her (that's why she attracted the nice guy types and Ashley Judd and Jennifer Lopez got stuck with the wife-beating, back-stabbing slimeballs). Oh well, at least we have Anna Faris and Juliette Lewis.