If you’re willing to ignore all the obvious positions our characters are put in, “Disturbia” will be pretty excellent. I wasn’t willing to ignore all the obvious marks, so I found it to be pretty damn frustrating. Let’s see, there’s our character Kale who is known for being a liar and deceiver, then there’s our mom who is so self-involved, she can’t listen to our hero, and of course a cop who has it out for him who we know will just come in the nick of time to help our hero when in trouble. And then there’s that nasty habit of the film being so utterly derivative. If there was ever going to be a remake of “Rear Window,” you could basically re-title this and not know the difference. “Disturbia” is a pretty cheesy thriller that is never afraid to flaunt that it’s so predictable.
In spite of the caveats, Steve Gelder takes the role on with a really funny sentiment that makes the title character in the film worthy of a viewing. Gelder takes the character on with finesse, and adds a sense of dimension that brings this character into a different view as this person who is so pathetic, and yet so oddly compelling. His delusions keep us wondering, and Gelder really dives into the role. Unfortunately, much of the comedy played for, during “Cabbie” doesn’t quite hit the stride as much as it wants to.