Directed by Harold Becker Screenplay by Lewis Colick Starring: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Steve Buscemi, Matthew O'Leary Budget $75M Box Office $54.2M IMDb 5.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes 24% Metacritic 29/100 Although this is not a HORROR film, it is certainly a suspense/thriller of sorts. Now, I'm going to tell you right up front that there isn't a lot of hardcore murder, action, blood, gore or the intensity that you might expect from a suspense or thriller type movie. However, this was, in my opinion, a good film. As you can see, once again, I disagree with the peeps at Rotten Tomatoes but, really, what else is new? I seriously often wonder who these people are and what their criteria are for a good movie? In this film, John Travolta plays a regular guy named Frank Morrison, who is an old-fashioned wooden boat builder. His son, Danny, lives with his ex-wife and her new soon-to-be husband, Rick (Vince Vaughn). The two exes seem to get along well and the only problem seems to be Danny's behavior. Danny seems to have a problem with lying. Well, let me rephrase. He doesn't have a problem with it. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. He lies to everyone. He lies to the police, his mother, his grandmother, his teachers, strangers, everyone. Everyone except his Dad, Frank. So, when Danny comes to Frank frantic saying he's just witnessed Rick commit a murder, Frank has to take him at his word. Unfortunately, this revelation comes on the heels of not only Danny's mother, Susan's marriage to Rick BUT also the news that she and Rick are going to have a baby. Frank must now decide whether or not to believe his son and if he does, what to do about it? The stakes are high when children are involved and the cost could be considerable. Frank has no idea who Rick truly is…and honestly, neither does anyone else. THE END I enjoyed this film for several reasons. First, we see Travolta in a role other than some sort of military-trained badass or psychotic villain. I know there are other movies out there that he's done like that such as Saturday Night Fever, Look Who's Talking, A Civil Action, Wild Hogs. However, I feel it's rare we see Vince Vaughn step so far out of the comedy genre and I think he did very well as the creepy new husband. He still has the sly sarcastic delivery and it's perfect for his character. You can't help but want to like Vaughn's character in this film and yet, at the same time, you just know he's a bad dude. Again, this is one of the few movies out of Travolta's 40+ year film career that he doesn't play some sort of trained killer or secret badass living in suburbia, that kind of thing. Not to mention some sort of psychotic villain, which I love those roles. All of them. I've often wondered if his involvement in Scientology helps in those roles of psychopathy…just saying. And believe me, it's not the actual faith base of that "religion" I question, I mean, to each his own. But, that…culture…functions more as a cult and a business than an actual religion and THAT is where my questioning only begins. I don't care if they believe in aliens and all that jazz. Big deal. I do care that their practices can cause harm (emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual, financial) and that's NOT what faith is about. So, you might be able to see how I may draw a connection between those practices and his ability to portray a psycho. But moving on…Scientology is a whole different article. So, this is a decent flick. Don’t be expecting a whole lot of suspense type action. I mean, you know the truth the whole time the film is rolling on however, what you DON’T know is how it will all turn out. It’s definitely worth watching at least once. RATINGS 3/5 Stars
1 Comment
9/27/2019 10:16:20 am
John Travolta is a versatile actor, and no one should question that. When it comes to acting, there is no one that should question him because we can see how passionate he is towards his craft. I haven't watched "Domestic Disturbance" and you had a relatively low review towards the film. Perhaps, there were some parts that you didn't like which is something that I understand. There will always be some parts that we will not like.
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