"Domestic Disturbance" sounds like one of those corny Lifetime movies starring Valerie Betanelli and Mark Paul-Gosselar.  Replace Gosselar with Travolta and Bertanelli with Teri Polo and they are one in the same.  Director Harold Becker, who directed Alec Baldwin through one of the greatest film speeches ever in "Malice", shows us that this film could have been worth watching.  The key word there is "could".  Instead, we get a jumbled, thriller/melodrama with hardly any suspense and fine performances that still can't turn a bad film into a good film.

 

      Here's the pitch:  Teri Polo divorces John Travolta for Vince Vaughn.  Vaughn turns out to be a psychopath and Danny (the son) witnesses one of his murders.  Travolta learns of the wrong-doing and gets all protective over his son because he knows of what Vaughn is capable.  The plot to "Domestic Disturbance" is so basic, so simple, and yet so complex. 

      Throughout the film, we get the sense that nobody really knows what is going on.  Director Harold Becker evidently decided to drop all hopes of a decent film and just go for a big box office draw.  He should have picked a better week other than the one in which "Monsters, Inc." opened.  Silly Howard.

      The worst thing about this film is the choreography.  The music is terrible and seems out of place at some points in the film.  The scenes flash before us so quickly and so 'in-your-face' that it catches us off guard and leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths.  And, though Travolta's performance is not bad, he looks terrible.  Now, in no way is this film nearly as unbelievably rotten as "Battlefield Earth", and I would give this an Oscar before watching that sci-fi piece of crap again, but Travolta is in desperate need of a new critical success.  He is getting to that point Eddie Murphy occupied, just after "Vampire in Brooklyn" and just before "The Nutty Professor".  It is pitiful.

 

      The only parts of this film remotely pleasing are the performances from Travolta and Vaughn.  They are experts as what they do.  Travolta knows how to play a nice guy better than anyone and Vaughn is the perfect psychopath.  Every time we see Teri Polo, we just can't help but picture "Meet the Parents", this removing some of the seriousness from her performance.  Other than the acting, there are only a couple of noteworthy scenes, like the eerie catch sequence.  All-in-all, this movie is just another thriller for the new release wall at the video store.

 

      Patsy ( 1 1/2 out of 4 pops )

 

      Simply put, this should have been a T.V. movie.  The plot was interesting but the suspense was derived and obvious.  Here's an example:  The camera focuses on Danny from behind, he is in his bathroom brushing his teeth at the sink.  He bends to spit out the excess toothpaste and when he looks up-- cue scary evil music-- Danny's evil step-father is standing in the bathroom doorway smirking at him.  Oh! scary!?  Puh-leeze!

    

      Matt ( 3 out of 4 pops )

 

      I'm surprised at all these bad reviews, because I thought it was a good, solid thriller-- against my expectations.  I'm lucky enough to have two parents, but I personally know lots of people with step dads and step moms, and I thought the relationship between the kid and his Dad (John Travolta) was very realistic, and so was his reaction to the new man in his mother's life (Vince Vaughn).  There are certain far-fetched elements, but overall this movie delivers the goods.  I never looked at my watch, I was locked in from start to finish.  Competing with the release of "Monsters, Inc." this movie will probably be overlooked, but it really doesn't deserve to be. 

 

      Pappy ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

 

      To be sure this film is totally predicable and has the low budget cinematic feel of a TV drama.  But it also has John Travolta and Vince Vaughn, two actors who are always interesting.  The trailers gave away the vast majority of the film’s plot, but it turned out to be a little more complex than I originally expected – it made me wonder a lot about Vaughn’s character (the evil step father Rick Barnes) and kept me watching him closely.  Barnes had a plan to mold a new life, but it was foiled by a character from his past, the always amazing Steve Buscemi (Monsters. Inc.; Reservoir Dogs; Fargo).  It just made me wonder how his life may have changed had the old “friend” not made it to the wedding.  What do you think?  Was it just a matter of time before another domestic disturbance