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Zone's Eye View of "Domestic Disturbance" 

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Synopsis of movie, courtesy of Paramount:

Frank Morrison wants what's best for his son. Since he and his wife Susan (Teri Polo) divorced a few years ago, their son has been rebellious and troubled, with a history of lying. But Frank and Susan love Danny dearly; they understand that beneath his defiant exterior lies an eleven year old boy who needs compassion, understanding and good parenting. For his sake, and with the mutual regard they still share, Frank and Susan have tried to be the best parents possible. 

Now everything is changing. Susan has found someone new; she's about to become Mrs. Rick Barnes. A newcomer in town, Barnes has already made his mark as a wealthy philanthropist. He'll be able to give Danny things that Frank, a boatbuilder, simply can't. Struggling with jealousy, Frank has to admit that two parents at home might be just what Danny needs. 

Before the wedding is over, Danny starts telling Frank stories about Rick Barnes - stories that become increas- ingly troubling as time goes on. Frank is torn between refusing to believe his son, whose reputation for telling the truth has always been spotty, and considering the awful possibility that Barnes might be an altogether different than he appears. 

When Danny tells his dad about a murder, Frank's sheer instinct must determine what's true and what isn't. As events first support and then contradict Danny's desperate stories, Frank realizes time is running out: his ability to see the truth may hold his son's life in the balance. 

Now for The Zone's Eye View

By Laura Alber

Another generic thriller that’s becoming all too common, but Domestic Disturbance does have it’s share of good qualities. For example, the cast is outstanding. John Travolta plays the ever-devoted father, Frank Morrison who is a hard working, “nice guy”, who agrees to help his ex-wife, Susan (Teri Polo) with their 12 year old son, who is not accepting her new fiancé very well at all. The fiancé (Rick Barnes) is played by Vince Vaughn who always plays the slimy character to perfection. But, probably the best performances came from son, Danny (Matt O'Leary) and the ever-brilliant Steve Buscemi, playing Vaughn’s old “acquaintance”.

Domestic Disturbance begins with a little background on Mr. Nice Guy, Frank Morrison (Travolta), who we see builds wooden boats for a living, as did his father and grandfather. He is not a very good businessman, as he is always undercharging. But, he does manage to make a living, and is doing what he truly loves to do. He and his son have a wonderful relationship, considering his son, Danny, is a mirror image of “the boy who cried wolf”. Danny tends to get into trouble every time there is tension between his mom and dad. But, despite his lying, he has never managed to be able to lie to his father. Now he has to deal with the fact that his mother is getting married to Rick (Vaughn), and is not happy in the least. Frank promises his ex-wife Susan that he will talk to Danny, and try to help him accept Rick, and even takes Rick on a sailing trip with him and Danny. A little far fetched I’d say, and quite a thing to ask of your ex-husband. But, nevertheless, Frank does all he can, and it seems Danny is warming up to Rick.

The wedding day arrives, and everyone is in attendance, including uninvited guest, Ray (Buscemi). Rick sees Ray during his vows, and almost forgets where he is. Frank is curious about this newcomer and asks Rick about him. Rick tells him he’s just an old business acquaintance. When Frank asks Ray during a casual conversation the same question, he gets a different story. Ray tells Frank that he and Rick have known each other since college. He begins to get a little concerned, but doesn’t think anything of it at the time. Rick takes Ray aside and orders him to go to the hotel and wait for his call.

The new family seems to be getting along, until Danny overhears his mother telling Rick that she’s pregnant. Danny is in total shock and wants only to go see his father. Rick decides to take this opportunity to go see Ray, while his mother is talking to Danny. While Susan is walking Rick to his car, Danny sneaks out his window and hides out in Rick’s car hoping to get closer to town where his father is. Rick, completely unaware of Danny’s presence, picks Ray up from the hotel under the assumption that he’s going to “pay Ray off”. But, not wanting to let go of any of his wealth, Rick instead opts to kill him. Danny witnesses the whole thing, and runs off unseen. He tells his father what happened, and they do manage to go to the police station to make a report, but with Danny’s history, everyone’s having a hard time believing the story, even Frank. The police are tired of spending time as well on Danny’s antics, so they do very little to try and confirm his story.

After some deep thought, Frank realizes that Danny has never lied to him, no matter what the circumstance. So, he begins to believe his story, and check up on Rick himself. Meanwhile, he tries to get Danny out of the house since he’s obviously scared of Rick. This leads to a very quick custody hearing, since Rick has threatened to hurt Danny’s father if he goes to live with him.

Frank is intent on finding out the truth about Rick, and this is where the film starts going downhill. The clues come in too conveniently, and the ending is just too “tidy”. There are a few scenes of intensity and suspense, but they are few and far between. It almost seemed like the writers, directors and actors had given up by this point. It became too predictable and just too “easy”. This is the problem with these types of movies. They set you up to believe there will be all these surprises and intense scenes, and then they just give you all the answers, and quit trying to excite you. Even with this obvious flaw, the movie itself was entertaining, although, I don’t think it will be remembered for long. Maybe if they hadn’t gotten rid of Buscemi so quickly, things may have been a little more suspenseful. I would rate Domestic Disturbance a 4 out of 10, mainly for the works of Danny (Matt O'Leary) and Ray (Steve Buscemi). Travolta didn’t give us the performance we know he can deliver, and Vaughn wasn’t allowed to show us just how truly evil he really was. Teri Polo, was just too naïve to believe. It’s a mediocre movie that you should probably wait for cable to watch.