Customer Reviews

Domestic Disturbance [DVD] [2002]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i wanna say that this film was totally good. as being it has john travolta who is a gr8 actor, but i'm afraid it just is not. its an ok of a film just something is missing from it. its about a woman who marrys a new man after divorcing her ex (travolta) with whom she has a son danny with. vince vaughn plays the part of the new man in her life. things look like there going well until the wedding when travolta senses something aint right with vaughn. then things get a little more up when there son danny sees him kill someone and burn the body. with father and son trying to tell the mum and others about what he saw no-one really belives it!... travolta plays an ok part but for me vaughn ruins it mostly. i think vaughn is a gr8 actor when it comes to comedy films but i think he's no good playing serious parts! (i say this as i found him the same in phsyco). an ok film just not travolta's best. or vaughns for that matter.

“Domestic Disturbance” is your standard thriller fare and due to one extremely unfortunately gaping hole in the plot it fails to deliver the impact that perhaps it should.

Frank Morrison is obviously a great dad, he has a lovely close relationship with his son, Danny and he’s still on good terms with his ex-wife Susan. So quite why she divorced him is a little puzzling to begin with. Anyway Susan is getting remarried to handsome and successful businessman Rick Barnes, who seems to be keen and conscientious in developing his relationship with Danny.
The day of the wedding comes around and when a character from Rick’s past, Ray appears Rick starts to behave in a less friendly way especially towards Danny.

As far as the plot goes it’s here that the huge leap in reality must be taken and as I say it’s so silly that it really spoils the rest of the story. Without giving it away the local police force must really invest in some better forensic equipment!

John Travolta plays Frank in a very nice dependable way and Vince Vaughn is particularly effective as the creepy Rick. Steve Buscemi can play the slightly off the wall wacky character better than anyone and he’s great here, it’s only a shame his character has such short screen time. Mention must be made of Matt O'Leary who as the young Danny puts in a great child performance.

The film is not badly made and it’s a real shame that the so blindingly obvious fault in the plot spoils it all and when alls said and done this is an average example of the thriller genre.

It's strange to see big stars doing B movie fodder, and in this case, John Travolta does a great job as devoted father to young Danny, a child who's a bit of a pain and doesn't really like the dysfunction of his family. He doesn't like Rick either (Vince Vaughn) and tries his best to convince mum and dad he's a bad guy.

The plot is very weak in this thriller, which sort of turned me off half way through, the story feels very rushed and there's no real explanation for the problem which makes this a duff story. As I said Travolta saves this film, otherwise I don't think it would have been as large as the film is now, and with it ending up on late night movie channels, it doesn't really surprise me that it's not highly rated by fans.

If you want a very light thriller, then yes, give this a go, otherwise give this a miss.

I have seen this movie 3 times now & really enjoyed watching it every time. It's more of a popcorn movie but who cares. It is very easy to watch and kept me very entertained. My husband really enjoyed it as did my 12 year old son.

I recently rented this DVD from a library, so it only cost me £2.50 and lets just say, I was glad i rented it and didnt buy it. I had seen the previews for the film and as they do in all previews, they made it look very good and worth watching. However, when i watched it, I noticed that alot of the clips that they showed in the preview, were not in the actual film, it was as if the film makers had gone through and cut bits out to make it shorter. Which they really didnt need to do because once it finished, i found it was an extremely short film anyways!

The overall plot is very good, with the fact that the kid saw his stepdad murder someone, and then set out to prove he was telling the truth, even when his own father didnt believe him. With a plot that strong they could have easily made it a spectacular film, but i just get the feeling that they hurried it all along so that they got to the end as fast as possible.
So overall, a good film, a good watch, but could have been much better if it had a little more time given to it.

The DVD extras arent exactly thrilling either. Aside from the theatrical trailer, a commentary, storyboard and a few lame deleted scenes, there is not much that makes the DVD better than the video.

But overall, the film itself was a fairly enjoyable watch I must say. Just dont buy it is my advice, rent it.

A simple film, a thriller indeed. It works because the simple violence and menace is wrapped up in a complex and yet simple story about a divorced mother, the custody of a child, the remarrying of the mother and the brilliant newcomer who was accepted at once without any inquiry about who he was in this small community. The conflict between the father and the stepfather with the son in between seems natural and it even makes the police be sloppy about what it is supposed to do. There is of course no real suspense since we know who the criminal is and what the end is going to be. The punch line is directed at the police. The chief of police of this small community is just sorry though he voluntarily neglected simple facts and evidence. Amazing how in our modern societies you just need to say you are sorry to be excused even of your worst negligence and incompetence. That's the new version of the Peter's Principle. When you have reached your level of incompetence just say you're sorry and everything will be just okay and go smooth and you will not be considered as responsible for the few dead people along the road. Who cares about them as long as the social order is not disturbed or menaced.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines