Domestic Disturbance
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Movie Reviews of Domestic Disturbance
Movie Review: A disappointing B-movie with no individuality
Summary: 3 Stars
Domestic Disturbance is the kind of film that begins to engage you as you watch, then quickly unravels into slop. Just when you begin to think it may be decent, you realize it is far from.This B-movie is the story of a divorced father (John Travolta) who's ex-wife is about to remarry. His son is a troubled youth, good at heart but having difficulty dealing with all the changes divorce brings. Then the step father (Vince Vaughn), who appears to be a wonderful guy on the outside, reveals himself to the son his evil, criminal ways and Travolta must step in to save his kid. Sound familiar? It should, it's been done way too many times before. Now, this would be alright if Domestic Disturbance offered something new to the story. Maybe some realistic characters with depth, or maybe some real unique twists. But it doesn't even come close.
To begin, all the characters are as flat as can be. No motivation is explained, you're just expected to accept that the step-father is crooked just because he is, and that the ex-husband can't be believed just because he is the ex.
Plus the plot holes are horrendous. *Minor spoiler warning* For two years, in this small town, no one realizes that the popular step father is a criminal, yet late in the film Travolta does a 30 second search on the internet and boom! there's an article that explains everything. Then there's the scene where the step father commits a murder in his SUV early in the film. After he quickly wipes up the blood with an old rag, police run tests on the seat and find no signs of blood! Even had he scrubbed it with chemicals, there would still be a trace so soon after.
The ending was also a disappointment. The film at least built up some decent suspense, but the climax didn't follow through in the least. And it was the least realistic part of the film.
Still, this film is somewhat enjoyable on a guilty pleasure level, hence the three stars. Mostly because it did hold some suspense for most of its running time, and the young actor playing the son was excellent. Better then Travolta and Vaughn combined. Now if the youngster could only land himself into a decent film, that would be something.
Movie Review: Exceptionally mediocre
Summary: 3 Stars
What is it with John Travolta? He can command just about any script he desires, and he signs on for the lead in this pedestrian rubbish? The man has talent, but he needs some serious career counseling. This script is not even TV grade. A kid has cried wolf a couple of times so the police don't bother to follow up when he claims he saw his step father murder someone; yes, that's very realistic. The screenplay would make any Wisconsin dairy farmer proud. It has so many holes that it is better classified as fantasy/comedy than drama.I'm surprised that this product comes from director Harold Becker ("The Onion Field", "Malice") who has given us a couple of fine thrillers. Besides the flimsy script, the cinematography is annoyingly underexposed. If Becker was trying for a dark look, he achieved it, because the film is so dark that much of the time you can only tell who's speaking by voice recognition, and that's outdoors during the day!
If there is anything that saves this film from the abyss, it is the acting. Travolta is sometimes fantastic and sometimes awful. In this film he is very good, especially considering the material with which he has to work. Matthew O'Leary is particularly good as the troubled son. He gives a convincing performance, capturing the motivations of his character effectively with all the conflict one would expect from a kid in his situation. Vince Vaughn gives a decent performance, though he is a bit tentative when trying to be duplicitous. He is much more convincing as a villain than a good guy. Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite bad guys, extremely underrated and unappreciated for his consistently sleazy characters. Again, he gives us a terrifically slimy portrayal of Rick's former underworld buddy.
To enjoy this film you have to look beyond the tired plot, the unbelievable departures from reality and the poor cinematography. These are just too many liabilities to overcome. I rated it a 5/10.
Movie Review: Enjoyable, but predictable, escape flick
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Predictable storyline
Summary: 3 Stars
John Travolta is always a good reason to pick up a movie, even if the part he plays here does not have a lot of "meat". Nevertheless, Travolta is always able to bring his charm and personal touch to any part, and to give it the warmth of a real person. Here he plays Frank Morrison, a boat builder who learns that his ex wife's new husband is not the man he pretends to be. In fact, it is no other then Danny, Frank's son who now lives with this man, who blames him to be a murderer. If only the viewer did not know that Danny is right...we could have been in a better position to understand Frank's hesitation in believing his son. However, in this movie, the viewer is always a little ahead of the actual heroes and thus the tension is not a matter of "did he" or "didn't he" do it, but rather a feeling of "can't you see he is telling the truth..."
The story line is somewhat predicted as we are all familiar with movies uncovering a villain's true face, including all the slow gathering of evidence. We are even familiar with the "real face" being uncovered by the person most unlikely to do so, such as in this movie. However, even if you know for sure that the end will be good and the bad will be punished for their deeds (or rather, that someone will believe the "good"), this is a real thriller that keeps you sitting at the edge of your seat.
Other actors do not stand out as much. Steve Buchmi with his ever irritable, unpleased expressions is the only one who deserves mentioning. Other then that this is a one-man show.
Movie Review: the film doesn't try anything out of the ordinary
Summary: 3 Stars
Mom and Dad are Divorced and My Stepfather is a Killer! That would have been the B-movie title of this movie and it pretty much describes the whole plot. Of course, the son's real dad is the only one who believes him and tries to help him out, but nobody believes him eitherthis movie has been done before...in fact, it's been done quite a few times! It's been done with a cop who seems like a "nice guy" at first, but then turns out to be a psycho (UNLAWFUL ENTRY), it's been done with a nanny who starts off as a "nice girl", but then turns out to be a psycho (THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE), and it was most recently produced as "parents" who starts off as a "nice couple", but then turn out to be quite psycho (THE GLASS HOUSE). The formula is pretty basic and the development of the story, quite predictable because let's face it
anybody who's seen the trailer of this film, can pretty much guess every step of the way But what makes films like these either "work" or not, is whether or not they are able to entertain you, even with their contrivances, offer you a couple of thrills, good performances and believability, along the way. In my case, I enjoyed the flick to a certain extent and thought that it did offer a pretty engaging story for the most part, with solid performances from both Vaughn and Travolta, some very cheap thrills (but nothing really intense) and enough believability for me to swat aside the few small plot holes that popped up here and there.