Customer Reviews

Domestic Disturbance [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Stereotypical characters, convoluted logic, and an abundant absence of intelligence abide in "Domestic Disturbance," a thriller that wants to be naughty, but ends up playing nice. What begins as a somewhat interesting film tailspins into an unending chasm of unbelievable plot twists and aggravating characters who make all the wrong choices. Here is a movie that covers familiar ground, yet it fails to spark much interest once things go awry.

John Travolta stars as Frank Morrison, a boat builder whose ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) is on the brink of remarrying. This, of course, is unacceptable to their 12-year-old son, Danny (Matthew O'Leary), whose outbursts against his parents' divorce have led to being picked up from the police station on numerous occasions. Like any good father, Frank advises Danny to accept that which he cannot change, and to give his new stepfather, the wealthy and popular Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn), a warm welcome.

Now anyone who knows their thrillers can guess that if there is money involved, then there's usually a tainted past here and there; this film is no exception. The wedding goes off without a hitch, despite the presence of Ray Coleman (Steve Buscemi), a former acquaintance of Rick's who is set on collecting a large sum of money from his old pal. One thing leads to another, contrivances appear, and Rick has a murder on his hands, unaware that Danny witnessed the deed from the backseat of the car in which it occurred.

This is the first in a series of several scenes that look promising, but hold little intensity or surprise. Judging from Danny's "Boy Who Cried Wolf" syndrome, it is easy to foresee that no one will believe him when he reveals what he saw, save for Frank, who must hold a grudge against his son's aggressor if there is to be any action or energy in the story. There's a little bit of cat-and-mouse going on, as Frank searches for the missing Ray and possible clues to take to the police, but it goes virtually nowhere.

The movie seems more interested in showing us just how stupid people can be in such situations, however unbelievable they may be. From the start, Susan stands by her man, defending him against Danny's accusations. Does it ever occur to her that when a strange event happens, Rick was out of the house at that same time? Does she ever stop to think about how her disbelief in her son's statements is affecting him, rather than the old song-and-dance about her marriage to Rick? Even the police are completely clueless, ignoring everything until the end when it hardly matters.

My big complaint with "Domestic Disturbance" is its editor, who has chopped the movie down to a mere 88 minutes, too short for a thriller and too long for a documentary on vengeful stepfathers. Paramount's advertising campaign for the film hit us with a slew of pre-release television commercials, as well as a lengthy and revealing theatrical trailer. There are scenes in both of these, one of which involves a car chase, the other involving a discussion between Rick and Frank in which Rick tries to buy him off. These and others glimpses are not even included in the final cut, and perhaps may have been more interesting than what we see here.

The climax is standard fodder, but it has the ability to generate more intensity than the rest of the film altogether. Travolta turns in a good performance, convincing us of his status as a loving father; Vaughn fails to generate a sense of menace, while Polo does little else except look completely clueless. For all its attributes (which are few), "Domestic Disturbance" adds nothing new to a worn out genre; its lack of lucid plot could be overlooked if not for its failure to generate any level of suspense. '

Note: The film was shot on the eastern coast of North Carolina, in Southport, yet in one scene, Ray mentions his locating Rick was from a childhood memory of Rick's about a family vacation in Maryland. Your thoughts, Mr. McNally?

It's a sheer waste of Travolta's talent even though he gave a good performance, the plot is very predictable, repeated and lame. I would rent this movie just for John Travolta's and Vince Vaughn's performances, Steve Buscemi does justice to a creepy character, but movie is no thriller.

John Travolta is convincing as a good father, who is trying to be accepting of his son's new stepfather, Vince Vaughn...and Vaughn is frighteningly real as a sociopath. Steve Buscemi once again does a good job as an individual with questionable character; and Teri Polo continues to raise her acting stock since her star role in "Meet the Parents."

The tense moments where Vaughn and Travolta control the action are well-designed. However, these moments seem a bit contrived at times, and complex situations are resolved too easily. A truly good thriller will take the audience through a number of intertwined events that are not easily solved. Much of the storyline in this film is one-dimensional, and great actors also come across as one-dimensional when they have a weak script to work with.

Also, this movie clocks in at less than 90 minutes, so character and plot development don't get the fair amount of time they need for a truly strong movie.

Still, some good thrills are found in this movie, and it's a good flick for a rainy day when you aren't looking to think too hard about what you are watching. However, spend your hard-earned money on the matinee bargain price.

"Domestic Disturbance" is an underrated thriller that boasts a frightening performance from Vince Vaughn and good work from John Travolta, playing a nice guy for a change.

Sure, the plot is very predictable all the way to the end, and the fact that we find out early on that Vaughn's character is a baddy takes a lot of the suspense out of the movie. But I was still compelled to watch to see how the good guy would eventually triumph. And Steve Buscemi also is a standout as Vaughn's creepy business partner.

I didn't expect a whole lot out of the film when I first saw it, but I found it an entertaining and satisfying way to kill 90 minutes.

I really like this movie. Granted, it's a little predictable, and in places maybe Travolta seems a little flat. It has a few other flaws as well. But there are a lot of reasons to like a movie and sometimes you have to make allowences.
What works about it? Matthew O'Leary and Vince Vaughn; the helpless kid & the bad guy. As the movie progresses, the kid gets more and more loveable and the evil dude becomes ever more despicable. Everything you need for this type of movie to be successful; a couple of very good actors in the right roles, convincingly earning, in this case, our sympathy or our bile. Even if the movie holds up in no other way for you, these two actors are sure to do their part. Settings, production, background, or script aside, these two deliver.
Predictable? Somewhat, sure. How many movies aren't? As for Trovolta perhaps being a little off, hey, the man is very busy. Besides, he was supposed to be low-key in this role, the emphasis of the movie being his son's plight. I think ultimately he served that role very well.
So despite its flaws, this movie still works, and I think quite well. If you haven't seen it you should consider doing so.

Frank Morrison (John Travolta) is a hard-working boat builder and devoted dad who is naturally wary of the new man (Vince Vaughn) in his ex-wife's (Teri Polo) life. His wariness turns into outright distrust when his son (Matt O'Leary) says that he saw this guy commit a murder. The problem is, nobody will believe the kid because he has a history of lying and getting into trouble. Frank becomes the only one who will believe the kid's story.

Enjoyable thriller is maybe a little bit better than most because it's actually mostly believable instead of contrived. It is also helped by genuinely good acting, especially by Travolta and Steve Buscemi. For such a short movie, it packed in a lot of great suspense and a good plot. I would suggest this to anybody who likes to feel tension during a movie!!

Yeah, I'll admit that I watched this disc with very little in the way of hope or expectations but an hour and a half later I was pleasantly surprised at this little thriller. While this film's foundation is comprised of typical 'B-movie' elements the film certainly over-achieves by way of Harold Becker's taut direction and Travolta and Vince Vaughn's excellent performances making this a better thriller then it deserved to be.

As far as overall disc production goes, the video transfer is average at best while the 5.1 Dolby is slightly better. Extras are skimpy as well with a commentary track by Becker, a handful of deleted scenes and a few storyboard examples. Is the disc ultimately worth your purchase? Probably not - but certainly worth your rental dollar should you find yourself craving a well done b-movie thriller.

John Travolta gets a chance to be the hero in this formula thriller. And, to his credit, he does a wonderful job portraying the divorced father who is faced with the impossible: either believe an incredulous story from his frequently prevacating son, or trust the "authorities" and their assertion that nothing his son has claimed occurred.

Fortunately for the audience, Travolta decides to go with his son on this one. However, the movie tends down a standard path in the process of uncovering the truth about his son's new stepfather. There are also some considerable leaps in deductive logic, and a few too many perfectly arranged situations that lead to a rather predictable conclusion. One of the most annoying aspects of the film is how inept the local police department appears to be in gathering evidence. I realize the events in the film take place in a small coastal town on the Eastern Seaboard, but they can't be so backward that they don't even have a connection to the internet.

Casting for this feature is outstanding. Matthew O'Leary, as Travolta's son, is fantastic in his ability to play the classic child of a divorced family. Vince Vaughn is able to capture that creepiness of the individual who has more to show than meets the eye. Teri Polo, as Travolta's ex-wife, brings believability to her character's desire to see what she wants in her new husband, and ignore the obvious warning signs.

If you are looking for a pure escape movie, this is the one. Pop up some popcorn and enjoy the show. But you'll probably see the ending coming long before the characters on the screen do.

There's nothing that pisses me off more in a movie than when someone fails to put up an adequate argument on their behalf when they're being accused of something.

It's like they either have the character act like a total maniac by flying off the handle when denying what they're being accused of (so obviously the other party will of course not believe them now), or they say the completely wrong things and understate their case, and it is extremely frustrating to watch because you're just sitting there screaming, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY THIS!!"

When that kid was in the interrogation room, his best method of convincing people that a murder took place was by weakly repeating: "look, I know what I saw OK.." Yeah that's gonna convince people. I don't care if you're 12, that's not the way you argue with people, and it's unrealistic.

The other thing that was silly was how the kid and the mother was STILL in the car by the time the father called her cell phone. They should've been gone by then, there was no logical reason why they would've still been in that garage, other than the fact the movie called for them to be there so the stepfather could catch them.

Come on be intelligent when you write, justify your damn script.

It seems that lately John Travolta has gone to the extreme to rid himself of our memories of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. His role in DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE is no different. Travolta plays a father intent on saving his son from the evil stepfather; he's a rough and rugged boat builder trying to be someone's hero. His nemesis is Rick (Vince Vaughan) who is as two-faced as you can get - on the outside he's the town's Man of the Year and everyone likes him, but on the inside, he's a ruthless murderer and conman.

The storyline has been done before with different twists. Frank Morrison (Travolta) is having a hard time with the upcoming marriage of his ex-wife, Susan (played by Teri Polo). Their son, Danny, (played by Matt O'Leary) also is having issues but relies on his relationship with both parents to get through it. It's a nice platform on which to build the rest of the story.

A few months later, Danny finds out his mother is pregnant and his entire life turns upside down. He stows away in Rick's SUV to catch a ride to his father's house. Instead of going straight into town, Rick kills an old friend who has come to town to cause problems for him. This is where the storyline is a bit sketchy. Seems Ray Coleman is out of prison and has come back into Rick's life to get his share of the cash from some previous partnership. It's never really described as to how they got said money, only that Rick had a better lawyer than the other three. Huh? Gee, is he a bank robber? How about a drug runner? What could it be? We are given a vague answer at the end of the movie but never really any more than a tidbit of information.

Danny is threatened by Rick and then when that doesn't work, Rick threatens Danny's father. That does the trick and Danny changes his story and keeps his mouth shut about what he saw. By this time Frank knows something isn't right and begins his own sleuthing when the police won't help. An internet search hits on past identities and the entire story comes to light. You'd think the police would be smart enough to do a simple internet search, but not in this movie.

The plot is ok; the suspense is lacking. But there are some glaring errors that kept this movie from being 5 stars. First off, when Rick kills Ray Coleman in his Chevy Suburban, he stabs him. It's a stab wound that kills him almost instantly. Ok, so where's the blood? There was no blood at all on the leather seat and very little on Ray's clothing. In fact, Rick picks him up and drags him into a brick factory to torch the body. Ok, so where is the blood trail? Gee, guess the guy had no blood in him!

The next big error was that the body was cremated in the brick factory and there were no bone fragments or teeth when police searched the kiln? I found that a bit of a stretch. So if Danny hadn't witnessed this murder, it would have been the perfect crime, right? If so, then criminals would have disposed of bodies this way for years!

The saving grace with this movie is the chemistry between the actors. John Travolta and Vince Vaughn are perfect opponents. The sweetness of Teri Polo is the perfect balance to the wickedness of Vaughn's character. And Danny is a nice mix of teenage angst and lovable child.

Overall, this is an above average movie. It's predictable right down to the crash through the French doors and the ending fight scene between Travolta and Vaughn. Yes, predictable but still enjoyable!