Domestic Disturbance

Well, here we have another entry into the "_____ seems like a nice guy, but really is a total psycho" genre, that during the late eighties and early ninties was a well worn genre, with some good examples, such as Cape Fear, Single White Female, and Fatal Attraction. This isn't as good as the other examples but the cast, which includes John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, and Teri Polo, do as good as they can with the material.

John Travolta plays divorced dad and a yacht builder Frank. His ex-wife, Susan (Teri Polo), is getting remarried to Rick (Vince Vaughn). Their son, Danny (Matt O'Leary), doesn't like this and uses it as an excuse to get wild. When Frank sits down to have a talk with his son, it's they both eventually agree to go to the wedding together to support each other through a certainly awkward situation.

The marriage goes off without a hitch, and Rick slowly starts to reveal his darker side to Danny during a game of catch. Things go downhill from there when a mysterious man, Ray Coleman (played by Steve Buscemi), comes to demand money that Rick apprently owes him. Rick calmly agrees to meet up with him later.

The night Rick is supposed to meet Ray, Susan tells him and Danny that she's pregnant with Rick's child. Danny is devastated at runs up to his room to sulk. Susan goes upstairs to talk to Danny. Danny wants to go live with his father. Rick interrupts and says he has to go into town. Susan walks Rick to his car, and Danny sneaks out and hides in Rick's car. Rick drives off and picks up Ray. Rick decides it would be cheaper to keep the money and dispose of Ray, so he does. And Danny is there to witness this horror.

This sets off the rest of the plot, which consists of Danny telling his Dad and the police what happened. The police don't believe him, but his Dad does, because, as the trailer makes perfectly clear, "Danny lies to his teachers, his mother, the police, but he doesn't lie to me."

We can all guess where it goes from there. There are few surprises in store for people familiar with the genre. However, the cast does their best with the material, and fans of the genre will cut it more slack than others.

My only real complaint is that the film is far too short to create the proper characterization a movie like this requires. If Frank is so nice and caring, why did Susan leave him for the psychopath? A better movie would have explained this better.

Printable Version