Domestic Disturbance (2001) User Reviews

Drama with thrills, suspense, and magnificent performances

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 17 December 2007]

The film deals about a divorced father(an agreeable role for John Travolta)named Frank, he's boat builder and shares custody with his ex-spouse(Teri Polo) of their son Danny(a newcomer Matt O'Leary). But she is about to marry again to suspect rich businessman(Vince Vaughn)named Rick. Then, in the little town takes appearance of Ray (a shady Steve Buscemi), a sleazy hood of Rick. Soon Danny is witness to a killing which nobody will believe took place, neither the police sergeant(Ruben Santiago-Hudson), only his daddy believes him.

This enjoyable thriller contains suspense, thriller, tension and straightforward performances. Most of the acting seem excellent with special mention to Vince Vaughn as suave suitor turned to menacing new father and Steven Buscemi in a secondary role as seedy friend.The film is suspenseful though predictable with the final confrontation between good daddy and bad dad. Film displays colorful cinematography by Michael Seresin and appropriate musical score by Mark Mancina. The motion picture is professionally directed by Harold Becker. He's a gritty thrillers expert, charged with dark atmosphere and with famous stars, such as ¨The Onion field(John Woods), Sea of love(Pacino),Malice(Nicole Kidman),City Hall(again Pacino),Mercury rising(Bruce Willis) and this one with John Travolta making a top-notch interpretation. Rating: Passable and well worth watching.

Worth Renting For A Couple Of Bucks

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 9 May 2006]

This was a decent thriller with good-guy "Frank Morrison" (John Travolta) trying to save his former family from the dangerous new husband. That's not a new theme in Hollywood movies (the dangerous husband) but this is acted well and presented without heavy-handedness. They were smart to keep the story relatively-short, too, at 89 minutes. As a consequence, nothing dragged.

To me, the film would have been more enjoyable had the 12-year-old boy been a nicer kid, but he's an annoying brat. The mother (Teri Polo) is not that endearing, either. Definitely a movie that will entertain but a one-look film and nothing more, especially with the ending being as predictable as it turned out.

Travolta saves the day.

[MichaelJBennett · 6/10 · 13 December 2001]

While the reviews I've heard didn't have much good to say about this film I appreciated it for it's straight-forwardness. It is an entertainment. That's all I wanted on the day I saw this film so I was pleased. There are points that seem implausible and ask the audiences' indulgence but they are forgivable and do not detract from the story Travolta and Vaughn give solid performances and for me, Buscemi is always fun to watch. Don't expect the reaffirmation of the virtues of being an involved parent. Expect to finish your popcorn and rasinettes.

Domestic Clichéd Disturbance

[Chrysanthepop · 13 December 2008]

'Domestic Disturbance' is pretty much another typical Hollywood thriller. The thing with these movies is that they are very easy to predict. We already know what will happen in the end. So why watch it? Well, the plot might be interesting. In this case, it isn't bad but it gives the deja-vu impression. It isn't anything intricate enough to create suspense but what kept me entertained were the characters and actors. I liked Travolta's Frank. A hardworking down-to-earth boatmaker who's going through a slump in business because people prefer plastic over wood. But through it all he remains a good father and a kind person at heart. It was fun to watch Vince Vaughn play a sociopath. He does not overact and brilliantly maintains Rick's deceitful gentleman mask behind which hides someone dangerous. The child actor is clueless. Teri Polo is pretty much given a clichéd role but I liked her, especially in the scene where she discovers that Rick was the one who set fire. 'Domestic Disturbance' doesn't have much (or anything?) to offer in terms of novelty but it was not exactly boring for me so one can give it a go if there is nothing else better on offer.

Good Thriller

[Luigi Di Pilla · 7/10 · 7 April 2002]

I didn't expect much from this movie but at the end I was very satisfied with the story. In the first third of the film happened not much but the last two thirds were suspenseful and very entertaining. There were also some scary moments and the soundtrack was also top. The picture was clear and the actors did a great job here. I liked especially John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. Congratulation also to the director Harold Becker and thank you. I hope that Hollywood will create more films like this one because quality is no more the same than before. After I watched it again with my wife we upgraded our rating from 6/10 to 7/10.

it wasn't terrible, just formulaic

[Netscape_Navigator · 6/10 · 27 December 2006]

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.

Exceptionally mediocre

[FlickJunkie-2 · 5/10 · 25 May 2002]

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.

Predictable but well-made thriller.

[gridoon · 7/10 · 31 December 2003]

Predictable (you know exactly what the last scene will be like right from the start), contrived (the police really should have looked harder for evidence), but well-made, extremely well-acted (especially by Vince Vaughn) and psychologically accurate (the "baseball practice" scene was perfectly written and played). Might have been better if it had kept us in doubt a little longer about whether the kid is telling the truth or not. Still, the running time of the movie flies by, and that has to count for something, right? Some have complained about it being "too short", but surely this is preferable to the opposite, "too long". (**1/2)

A disturbing movie

[Cubcreer · 3/10 · 19 December 2001]

This movie was just trifling, right from the start. I tried to give it a fair shake, but repeated examples of terrible acting (let's just say the kid won't win an Oscar) and even worse writing (watch the step dad and kid play catch, brutal) just wouldn't allow me to. I saw the trailer and expected it to be a tense thriller, with a lot of suspense, but all I could do was laugh, and feel bad for doing so. The only reason this movie got a rating as high as it did (3), was Steve Buscemi's role in the movie. Buscemi is great as always, but enough to save this movie.

Better than I thought it would be, but still a predictable Hollywood thriller

[wuzupn_tb · 6/10 · 6 December 2002]

Hollywood movies like this come out all the time. Before Domestic Disturbance came Don't Say A Word. These types of movies have the occasional pretty good lines and familiar Hollywood actors you all know and love. At times, you think to yourself that the movie is really good. But then it just gets so predictable, and by the end of the movie (which you predicted, and were right), you feel warm and happy the good guys one, but still cheated. C+, 6/10

Dull unoriginal thriller enlivened by excellent performances.

[lostintwinpeaks · 3/10 · 19 October 2002]

Well, this is certainly nothing we haven't seen before. A rerun of every domestic situation thriller of the past two decades (everything from "Pacific Heights" to "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"), its one saving grace is its excellent performances: Matt O'Leary, who was also fantastic as Fenton in the brilliant "Frailty", gives a very intelligent mature perfromance; John Travolta makes a likeable hero, while Vince Vaughan is good as the creepy villian (much better than his camp performance as Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant's pointless remake of "Psycho"); and Teri Polo does the best she can with the role of damsel-in-distress. Otherwise, a very dull (apart from the scene where O'Leary is hiding in the car watching the murder - this is suspenseful) movie, with no originality whatsoever.

Liked Travolta as the good guy for a change...

[hunttj · 8/10 · 28 January 2011]

Having never been a real big John Travolta fan, I watched this just as a "filler"for the evening. I thought that John played a compelling role as the Dad of a struggling little boy. His acting was very believable to me. And for a change, I saw him as a "real" person. So often it seems that John has taken roles that, to me, have almost given him a comic persona. I really enjoyed watching him act with compassion and love displayed for his son, Danny,played very well by Matthew O'Leary. Although the script was somewhat predictable.It definitely more than kept my attention throughout. The actors were well cast for their roles. Vince Vaughn as the villain was perfect. As was Steve Buscemi,again perfectly type cast, as Vaughn's slimy ex-partner. I love that guy in any movie he appears in. Overall. Yeh. I give this movie more stars than average. I'd watch it again. Much better movie than I had anticipated.

A good movie

[homer_simpson91 · 6/10 · 11 November 2001]

This movie was exactly what I expected, a typical thriller with some solid acting and a fun, though not very unpredictable, story. John Travolta is good as the hero, but it is Vince Vaughn who is especially impressive as the villain. You will find that you hate Vaughn and are really rooting for Travolta to give him what's coming to him. Steve Buscemi is excellent in his role, however short it is.

Many people have commented that they did not like the ending of the movie. I didn't think it was too bad, but it did seem to be a little quick and it certainly could have been better. There were plenty of other well done and fairly intense parts in the movie, mostly because of the evilness that is Vince Vaughn.

The worst part of DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE is that it is predictable, just as many thrillers of this kind are. It didn't ruin the overall experience of the movie for me, though. It obviously wasn't a great movie, but it was an enjoyable way to spend and hour and a half. It was sure better than DON'T SAY A WORD (4/10), that's for sure. Worth checking out, especially when it is available for rent.

7/10

Overwhelming Domestic Thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 25 January 2014]

Frank Morrison (John Travolta) is a divorced father of a boy (Matt O'Leary) who is having trouble with the split. His ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) is getting remarried to Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn). At the wedding, Ray (Steve Buscemi) from Rick's past raises some suspicions. Rick may not be the nice guy that everybody thinks that he is.

It's a thriller filled with all the dangers without any compelling characters. It actually starts with the kid character who is unlikeably angry. He's the key to it all. We need to like him and root for him. Then there is the unimpressive story. It piles everything on without any reservation. It overwhelms. The police work is laughable. The film certainly holds nothing back. There is no subtlety here. This is a too by-the-book thriller that tells you everything that's going to happen in the first 15 minutes.

Quite decent.

[LionelM · 18 November 2001]

To start off, I enjoyed "Domestic Disturbance". I found it kept me shaking and on the edge of my seat through-out the entire film (which was rather short, by the way).

ACTING: As you probably already know, this film has some of the best-in-the-biz. Including such stars as John Travolta and Vince Vaughn, alongside newcomer Daniel O'Leary. Travolta decently played the good-guy divorced father, trying to protect his teenage son from an apparent murderer.

The murderer/stepfather was played typically by Vaugh who's portrayed serial killer roles in other movies such as "Clay Pigeons" and the remake of Hitchcock's classic thriller, "Psycho". And on to the young victim of mayhem...

Daniel O'Leary. A relatively good child actor who convincingly plays a stressed, frightened teen boy seems the perfect choice, with his convicingly frightened facial expressions.

All in all good acting. Mainly on Vaughn and Travolta's part.

STORY/WRITING: The movie flails mainly in this category. Thrilling, edge-of-your seat thriller until un-eventful ending. I'll try not to give it away, but it's a tad rushed.

The story isn't all-to origional, nor is anything else in this film. The dialogue is mediocre. Basically the entire script is pretty mediocre...

DIRECTING: Very nice direction. The director's dark, creepy style carries the movie along swiftly. If this director had been given a better script, with the same actors, "Domestic Disturbance" could've achieved brilliance.

Once again, direction is a high-point in this film.

BOTTOM LINE: A good thriller. 7 out of 10 stars.

He doesn't lie to me....

[FlashCallahan · 6/10 · 30 May 2011]

Susan Morrison gets married to wealthy industrialist Rick Barnes. Danny, her teenage son with ex-husband Frank, isn't happy about this; he stows away in Rick's car one night, planning to go to Frank's house.

But while there, he witnesses Rick murdering mysterious stranger Ray Coleman.

Problem is, Rick's managed to dispose of most of the evidence, and he's considered a pillar of the community, while Danny has a history of lying.

Frank believes him, though, and does some investigating of his own, as Rick's shady past slowly catches up to him and his new family....

A movie of the week, gets that little bit better thanks to Travoltas performance and Vaughn on full psycho mode. The annoying things about these films are that you know who the bad guy is, but the red herrings and the narrative of these films just make you want to shout at the screen.

As soon as we meet Vaughn, you know the guy is trouble, he offers travolta work and is just too nice, never a good sign. Cracks begin to show when we are introduced to Buscemi, arguably the best thing here. And then Vaughn has a heated game of catch with his new stepson....Bad news.

It's all as predictable as the slew of films that were released in the early nineties, pacific heights, unlawful entry, single white female, and nothing new has been added to the mix here to make it different.

It's an easy watch, with good performances from the cast, and thats it really.

Great John Travolta Film

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 12 February 2007]

This film started out with a couple having trouble with their young son who seemed to enjoy telling lies, in other words, it was "Cry Wolf" all the time which had the couple visiting the police department quite often. John Travolta was the father and he was getting a divorce from his wife and the boy was not very happy about his new step-father, because he was very close to his own father. Vince Vaughn, (Rich Barnes) plays the role of the new father and has some very deep dark secrets about his past; however, he is very rich and is very popular in their home town. It is not too long after the wedding that the film explodes into a very fast action filled film with plenty of heat, like a very hot furnace. John Travolta gave an outstanding performance as a boat builder and a very loving father. Enjoy

Bad and boring

[Brian B-2 · 4/10 · 3 November 2002]

Teri Polo is cute, but wooden and overdressed. otherwise, John Travolta sleepwalks, Vince Vaughan is stonefaced, rather than menacing. Steve Buscemi's cameo was the best part of the movie.

The plot is obvious, but contrived. The incompetence of the police is totally incredible.

why this movie was made is unclear. It shares a genre with many better examples.

Tight Fast Moving Thriller!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 2 November 2002]

I guess I liked "Domestic Disturbance" more than most critics and visitors to this site. I thought it was a compact fast moving little thriller that packed a lot into its brief 89 minute running time.

Frank Morrison (John Travolta) and his ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) have a 12 year old son Danny (Matthew O'Leary) who is taking their breakup and Susan's impending marriage to local hot shot Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn) very hard. He is taken to running off and lying to his parents and the authorities. Frank meanwhile, tries to encourage Danny to give his new stepfather an even chance.

At Rick and Susan's wedding an uninvited guest Ray Coleman (Steve Buscemi) shows up and we learn that Rick has a past. When Susan announces that she is pregnant with Rick's child, Danny sneaks out of the house and into the back of Rick's car in order to get to his father's home. At the same time, Rick decides to rid himself of Coleman who is threatening to expose his past. Rick murders Coleman and Danny witness the act.

Danny must now convince his parents and the police of Rick's guilt. But because he has cried wolf so many times before, no one will believe him. To make matters worse Rick has threatened to do harm to his father if he talks. Susan unaware of all of this supports Rick. Frank on the other hand, begins to smell a rat.

Director Harold Becker keeps the story moving and at the same time, heightening the suspense. Travolta gives good performance as Frank. He wants his son back and has trouble at first convincing himself that Danny and his ex are in harm's way. Vaughn makes a chilling villain and young O'Leary is excellent as the son who is caught in one too many lies. And no one can play a slimy underworld type any better than Buscemi.

Don't read the reviews. This is a good movie.

Felt like a made for TV movie with some swearing! Cliched!

[Doc_Who · 1/10 · 4 November 2001]

If you see this movie, you might as well be watching a made for TV movie! The acting,story everything about this movie has been done before. There is nothing new from Hollywood from this movie.Basically if you've seen the trailer and TV ads, you know what is going to happen.

If you want to see this movie watch "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle". This movie is the male vs. male version of that movie. Instead of a baby in trouble, it's been changed to a 12 year boy.

if you wish to see it fine but it's another recycled movie from Hollywood. Wait for it on DVD and video as it should be coming out in a few months. It also did very bad opening weekend? I guess John Travolta's bad movie streak he started with "Battlefield Earth" is still going on. If you like the film's main stars see it for that. But Vince Vaughn's bad guy drill is getting old(Clay Pigeons,Psycho anyone?) and Travolta still plays the good guy(expect for Battlefield Earth).

I just wish this movie was a direct to video release and spared the big screen release!

A Good Thriller!!

[kippardue_luvr21 · 7/10 · 4 November 2001]

This movie was very good! One of the most thrilling movies that I have ever seen with surprises around every corner! Vince Vaughn was perfect for the role of the evil stepfather and John Travolta was perfect! One of the best thrillers to come around in years! Go see 'Domestic Disturbance', you won't be disappointed.

Lapses in judgment all around...

[moonspinner55 · 1/10 · 3 August 2006]

Low-brow, underwritten melodrama posing as a suspense thriller. Divorced, modest-living boat builder in a seaside town is hoping he'll get along with his ex-wife's new husband, but his pre-teen son has convinced dad that the new guy is bad news. Flabby, witless picture makes all the females look like ninnies and the police detectives lazy incompetents; however, this is quite deliberate as the filmmakers want the audience completely on John Travolta's side--but isn't there a more intricate, subtle way of devising this? The kid (who, by the way, resembles new stepfather Vince Vaughn more so than John Travolta!) is 12-years-old going on 27, while John himself looks wrung out. The movie wants desperately to appeal to our most basic responses to terror within the familial unit: new man in the house with a shady past is not only a crook but a psychopath, and therefore he "gets" what's coming to him. This kind of cheapjack screenwriting is a cheat to anyone who invests their interest in these one-dimensional characters, while the cast struggles to enliven the stale scenario. * from ****

Vince Vaughn is amazing as a psycho! The funny man deal misses his mark.

[tomcat-jjr · 8/10 · 18 November 2007]

OK, so I saw this again for the second time last night on T.V. I was pleased when I realized what it was because I saw it before and was happy then and this was no different the second time around. Great little suspense building thriller with several cool heart pounding moments.

Now, that being said, let me just say that this is exactly what a good thriller should be. Not a lot of blood and guts, no gratuitous sex and violence, but rather trying to link many parts of a rather deep story all together for you, the viewer, in just 88 minutes. If the producers and directors used the modern day formula and made this story 100-120 minutes as so many are nowadays, then I'm sure I would have given it an even higher rating of 9 as it could only be better! So, yes, it seemed a little rushed to convey everything it did, but kudos to them for keeping viewer interest from one scene to the next as they did in the time allotted. It could have been a bit better, but it could have been a LOT worse.

And now on to the acting as I won't even waste time telling you what you already know about the movie and the plot/storyline. I wanna tell you what you don't know and that is that Vince Vaughn is, in my mind, one of the greatest evil playing son's o' bitches this side of Hollyfake! He was natural, self assured, scary and most of all, downright convincing! Forget the funny guy stuff. We have the next great badass/gangster in our midst and we need to embrace him. I don't know who his agent is, but that guy needs to get fired and I need to get hired cuz Vince Vaughn has what it takes to be the next great Pacino, De Niro, Pesci or Liotta anyday of the week. Any bad guy you wanna throw at him? He can be. And you'll see it first hand in this movie.

Forget about, Crashing Weddings, Breaking Up and being Santa Clauses brother. Somebody please let this guy go and do what he does best and wreak havoc across Villania and be the monster he truly needs to be.

Check out the movie. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Ok thriller

[Spanner-2 · 6/10 · 14 November 2001]

A so-so thriller where John Travolta discovers that his ex-wife is about to marry a killer (a convincing Vince Vaughn) and his child is in danger. Pretty much by the numbers thriller stuff, but it's an ok viewing with decent performances. GRADE: C

Quite a past from the rackets

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 19 March 2016]

This is some community on the Maryland shore where apparently everyone is just gentleman about things. Where else except among the English aristocracy would an ex-husband like John Travolta be invited to his ex-wife's wedding? I think that most people would find that an awkward situation.

But it's more than awkward when Travolta's son Matthew O'Leary stows along and sees Vince Vaughn his mother's new husband kill someone and dispose of the body. He tells dad and that gets Travolta to investigating Vaughn. He proves quite adept as a detective, better than the local Mayberry like police they have in the area.

Vince has got quite a past from the rackets, but he's sold himself well to his surroundings. It all comes out in the end of course.

It's not a bad story, but it was given a mediocre production. Best in the film is young Matthew O'Leary. Most of the rest of the cast just walks through their roles. A shining exception is Steve Buscemi who always is playing sleazebags. In Domestic Disturbance he's at his sleaziest.

For fans of Travolta and Buscemi.