# In War Of The Roses, why does Kathleen Turner switch on all the appliances? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-of-the-roses-why-does-kathleen-turner-switch-on-all-the-appliances/931023 "2021-01-20T22:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-of-the-roses-why-does-kathleen-turner-switch-on-all-the-appliances/931023/1 "2021-01-20T22:01:41Z")
Fairly early on in the film, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner have an argument in the kitchen. He walks out, then she turns on the faucet along with every conceivable appliance in their large and well equipped kitchen. I get it, she’s pissed. But why turn everything on? Was there an earlier scene that would have provided the background, but didn’t make the final cut? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-of-the-roses-why-does-kathleen-turner-switch-on-all-the-appliances/931023/2 "2021-01-20T22:12:25Z")
She’s trying to make as much noise as possible to interfere with Oliver’s “important” call, in response to how dismissive he is of her, and in particular using her catering contract to swat a fly. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-of-the-roses-why-does-kathleen-turner-switch-on-all-the-appliances/931023/3 "2021-01-20T23:00:22Z")
OK, I see. I never made the connection because in such a big house there would presumably be another extension elsewhere the house he could have used. Didn’t everyone have an extra extension in the landline era, at least if the house was big enough to warrant it? We always had an extension in my parents’ bedroom, but then Dad needed it for professional reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-of-the-roses-why-does-kathleen-turner-switch-on-all-the-appliances/931023/4 "2021-01-20T23:13:29Z")
I’m going from memory here, but if you rewatch the scene I believe he picks up the phone in the kitchen, asks Barbara to hang it up when he goes to the extension in his office, she slams the phone down, and then in rage turns on every noise-making appliance and leaves the kitchen. Presumably this makes enough noise to be heard elsewhere in the house because in the following scene in the bedroom he complains about the noise. This is one of my favorite movies, BTW, not only for the story and the phenomenal performances by Douglas, Turner, and DeVito, but also the cinematography from Stephen Burum that is a clear homage to Hitchcock films like _Rear Window_ and _Vertigo_, which turns a satirical domestic drama into a noir-ish film once it takes a dark turn into violence. DeVito hasn’t directed all that many films but he clearly has an enthusiasm for Hitchcock (he also directed the Hitchcock parodies, _Throw Momma From the Train_ and _Duplex_) and it really shows here with how the film was shot and the sharp psychological twists that the characters go through as they become more obsessive over possessing the house. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner were as close to a classical paring as Hollywood got in the 'Eighties, and it is a shame they only made three films together, of which this is by far the best. Stranger