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'Domestic Disturbance' not disturbing enough
 John Behling
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It was the premise that hooked me. A father discovers that his ex-wife has remarried to a dangerous man and now the life of his son is in danger.
What further drew me in was the promise of having two good actors square off against each other: Vince Vaughn, playing the deranged stepfather, and John Travolta as the father fighting to save his son in a situation that would twist the stomach of any parent.
What followed in “Domestic Disturbance” was a brutal disappointment. The plot is not even a thin garment for the premise. Its delivery is slow and obvious, and even the suspense is missing.
I went to the theater for the premise and that is exactly what I received.
Travolta plays Frank Morrison, a struggling ship builder whose ex-wife is engaged to a Rick Barnes, a wealthy business man played by Vaughn.
At the wedding a mysterious man arrives from Barnes’ past. Then, Frank’s son Danny (Mathew O’Leary) witnesses an incident that proves that Barnes is not who he says he was. When Barnes finds out that Danny knows he threatens the boy into silence, but Frank’s belief in his son forces him to dig deeper.
From here on out the embellishments are next to none. The plot takes no turns, just a direct road from the point of conflict to the resolution.
But what hurt this film even more is the way the director presented it. Everything is blatantly obvious. There are no subtle hints, everything is exposed and simply laid out on to the table, making the direction of the story predictable to a viewer half the the age of it’s PG-13 rating.
Just as thin as the plot was the performance of Vaughn. Vaughn plays a felon who fronts as a successful businessman and settles down in the town of Southport. But he ends up portraying a hot-tempered criminal who barely can pass as anything but a lunatic. It’s hard to believe that Travolta’s ex (Teri Polo) would ever be fooled by his facade.
This weakness complements the bare story and obvious presentation to round out a very uninteresting film.
But I’m sentimental for Travolta. It’s refreshing to see Travolta get away from his action villain self from “Sword Fish” and his alien villain self from “Battlefield Earth.”
Where Vaughn is unconvincing as a double faced psychopath, Travolta excels as the hard working, loving father. Travolta really captures the role of a man taking the law into his own hands to rescue his boy from a more than dangerous situation.
My recommendation is that if the premise interests you, go out and rent “Rear-window.” “Dial M for Murder” and “Psycho.” Then close your eyes and imagine what it would be like if “Domestic Disturbance” had anything in common with these phenomenal suspense films other than a great premise.
John Behling can be reached at: [email protected]
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