Dangerous Child

The thing that struck me about this TVM were the two leads . Delta Burke looks like Monica Lewinsky`s older sister while Ryan Merriman looks like David Duchovny`s kid brother . It`s uncanny it really is.

The problem I had with this issues based TVM is that it pulls its punches . Jack doesn`t actually come across as the twisted tortured youth that lyricists like Roger Waters or Matt Johnson write about , nor does he make a convincing mother beating thug . And being a TVM you just know it won`t be ending in a graphic and senseless murder

And there seems to be an element of people coming onto this IMDB site in order to give a DANGEROUS CHILD 10 out of 10 . Almost a quarter of people who voted for it gave it a ten . It`s by no means the worst TVM ever but it`s not LORD OF THE RINGS either . I gave it a four out of ten

I have this movie taped!! Little miss Sugarbaker did an excellent job, and Ryan was amazing. I didn't know he could act so well! It's about a 16 year old boy who turns violent towards his mother. I didn't think Ryan was capable of such a role, but I guess I was wrong!

Someone had better give Ryan Merriman a frickin' Golden Globe or something for his performance as Jack Cambridge. WOW!!! What a diverse and very powerful performance. This kid is an excellent actor, and it is way, way past time someone realizes this! You can feel the anger his character feels. Especially anyone that has been a 16 year old boy (Merriman is 18 in real life). Icicle are evident with every angry stare, or sneer he give to his mother (Delta Burke). I don't know if enough can be said about Ryan Merriman. His acting is such a powerhouse, he upstaged Delta in my opinion. He electrifies the screen with his presence, and could send a small animal running with that stare( chills)!!!! Unfortunately, this movie does play very formulaic to a made for tv movie. Especially one on Lifetime. Delta Burke does give a very emotion and excellent performance of a battered mother. Protecting her son from the world, knowing that he would be taken from her if it came out that he was the abuser. Very believeable! There is defintely no room for Miss Susan Sugarbaker here. One thing I really liked about the movie is how much Ryan and Delta look like mother and son. It was perfect casting. Set in Illionis, filmed in Canada, this movie is standard made for TV, but the performance by Delta and more so by Ryan make this movie more than it really is.

It's good to finally start seeing ole Delta again after all those years after "Delta" flopped. And with all the comedic roles she's had since she's seriously started acting again, I really enjoyed seeing her dramatic side. The movie itself isn't Oscar quality, but it's about average for "Made-For-TV." The thing that sets it apart is that focuses on an all too frequent problem these days: parental abuse. Now I am not a parent, myself. However I do watch my mother deal with my brother and it scared me at some points during this movie to see some of the same things happening and what they can turn into. The character of "Jack" is a far too accurate portrayal of teenagers today. Anytime he does something wrong, he is able to either talk his way out of it by changing the subject, or let's his temper get out of whack and throw things across the room. His mother doesn't know what to do about it, so she's passes it off as a phase and moves on, which even I know is a big no-no in parenting. But then, what is she supposed to do? She's the only one who really sees the extent of what he is actually capable, so nobody knows what to tell her, as far as what to do. She could defend herself, but, even if she could bring herself to do that, the law would look at it as child abuse since "Protect the Children" is the main thing these days. At any rate, this is a good movie to watch, moreso as research and warning than anything else.

this film addresses an issue which we do not often hear about, when the child is the abuser. We do hear of elder abuse in the news, but only the most extreme cases. What is valuable about this movie is that it also encompasses the societal problems, what Delta Burke(the mother) may or may not have done to cause the problem, and the reasons why the behavior is occurring.

Vito Ruginis portrays the father, who is re-married and treats his son (well played by Ryan Merriman) as his friend/buddy. Many parenting issues are explored, such as when Burke covers up for her son when the police are at the door, after he has hit her, and she has fallen on the floor. There is also a disturbing scene where he abuses the family cat.

Delta Burke gives an excellent and touching performance as a divorced mother, struggling to raise two sons. She has no idea why Merriman has such uncontrollable rage, and initially thinks he is just in a phase that he will grow out of. There is also the fact that she has no support or help from the ex-husband and father (Ruginis) who has the attitude "boys will be boys".

The point of this film is to show that behavior occurs for a reason. When Burke attends therapy, she realizes that she has allowed her ex-husband to verbally abuse her, and the son may have picked up on this attitude. She also realizes that her ex-husband's behavior has negatively influenced her son.

While there are never easy answers, this film has at least three different perspectives: the mother,trying to do the right thing; the son, who is angry and does not know why; and his father, who is in complete denial. Highly recommended. 9/10.