MovieChat Forums > Stuart Saves His Family (1995) Discussion > Missing Scene?

Missing Scene?

posted 18 years ago by Faena
5 replies | jump to latest

When Stuart's brother shows up at the Christmas party at the end, it's cool and all, but it felt like a piece of the movie was missing. What's he doing there? Stuart had left his family behind, and his brother and sister saw him off at the bus station. So Vincent D'onofrio showing up at the party three minutes later doesn't really make much sense. I get the feeling this movie was hacked to pieces before release. I also think there was a whole other subplot with the original Public Access receptionist deleted.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] laurap10308 17 years ago

I always thought the brother was making an effort to be a better person and make something of his life. Plus, Stuart and his sponsor have just finished talking about Christmas dinner and spending it with their 'real' families, and that the brother came to visit Stuart made me feel like the brother was starting to realize what family was all about. Which is sad, because then it makes it seem like the parents and sister are still a trainwreck, but at least the brother sees the benefits of removing himself from the situation now.

[–] donmccullough 17 years ago

I saw the brother's presence the same way, but I didn't think about it being sad for the rest of the family as much as empowering for Donnie and rewarding for Stuart.

Stuart's actions and words had finally made a profound, positive effect on Donnie. It was a great first step for him.

[–] bluevolume 17 years ago

The other replies here are correct. Donnie showing up showed that he was taking the high road, trying to be a better person and showing Stuart he wanted to be a part of his life. After the intervention, its easy to see that Stuart's mother just reverted to her submissive self, and its unknown what his sister did.

Its another subtle but very relevant things included in the movie. Family politics can be extremely difficult, and it would have been very easy for the family to blame everything on Stuart and re-bond with their father in the process. This is another common result of family interventions, especially when the person they are calling out doesn't accept it.

[–] lionman1299 9 years ago

I don't feel like anything is missing at all. Donnie got smart and separated himself from the family. It's too bad that Jodie didn't come with him; I hope she is able to extricate herself from that situation. The mother and father are too enmeshed in their own private hell to ever leave it.