Evil looks pretty good in 'Domestic Disturbance'

Friday, November 2, 2001

By WILLIAM ARNOLD
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER MOVIE CRITIC

After "The General's Daughter," "Battlefield Earth" and "Swordfish" -- three losers in a row -- John Travolta is definitely ready for another of his legendary comebacks. But he's not likely to have it with his latest offering, "Domestic Disturbance."

MOVIE REVIEW

DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE

DIRECTOR: Harold Becker

CAST: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Matthew O'Leary

RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for violence, brief sexuality and language

WHERE: Alderwood 7, Cinema 17, Crossroads, Everett 9, Factoria, Galleria 11, Issaquah 9, Kent 6, Longston 14, Meridian 16, Mountlake 9, Oak Tree, Parkway Plaza, Redmond Town Center, Renton Village, Varsity, Woodinville 12.

GRADE: C+

The movie has a suspenseful moment or two, and it's never hard to watch, but it's ultimately one more totally forgettable Hollywood thriller. Travolta is lackluster in the lead, and the few good acting moments all go to Vince Vaughn as the villain in the clash of good and evil.

Travolta plays a divorced, recovering alcoholic, small-town Maryland boat builder and all-around nice guy whose troubled 12-year-old son (Matthew O'Leary) has taken a particular dislike to the wealthy newcomer (Vaughn) his mother (Teri Polo) has married.

It turns out the kid's instinct was right, and he witnesses his new stepfather commit a brutal murder. But when he tries to tell the world, no one believes him -- except, of course, his real dad; and no one believes him because he's so obviously jealous of his ex's new hubby.

The director is Harold Becker, the man responsible for Al Pacino's terrific 1989 comeback vehicle, "Sea of Love." He's a cut above the studio hacks that grind out most big-budget thrillers these days, and, here and there, he lifts the proceedings slightly above the formula routine.

But plot movements are so predictable that it's hard not to drift off. And Travolta's aw-shucks niceness is somehow not particularly empathetic or endearing. Unlike a Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise, he's a star who only tends to work in quirky roles.

As the stepdad-from-hell, Vaughn comes off much better. Dusting off his Norman Bates turn from the ill-advised "Psycho" remake, he dominates the movie with his evil-masked-by-affability. He's so strong, and the rest of the cast so weak, you almost find yourself rooting for him.