who's intimidating who here?

This installment of the bad movie review is Domestic Disturbance. This is a predictable little thriller from a few years back that just reminds me how great it was when the mall here had a movie theatre in it. Now we gotta drive a half-hour or so to see the latest steaming piles. This was on the big screen in the mall though, and it was actually pretty good, I thought. I do look back and think, you can see most things in the flick coming from a mile away. What makes it unique from every other thriller is the subtleties that you don't see coming from a mile away, like just a second ago, this kid threw a ball through the window, which was totally out of no where.

Let's hit up the plot first: We got a kid whose parents just got divorced. The dad and the kid were very close, but now things get rough because ma has a new hubby. After she gets married trouble is right around the corner. When Steve Buscemi mysteriously goes missing and the kid is spouting stories about the step dad being the killer, everything is crazy. Is the kid lashing out or will his dad realize that the stepfather is a heartless killer? And if he does, will he be in time?

Of course all those answers is yes.

We got some solid performances from the main guys, Vince Vaughn and John Travolta-- but before I get to the real-time review, I'm gonna get a quick shower. You won't miss much, just the setup I gave you up there. Be back soon...

Aaand back! Now I made it just in time to see Steve Buscemi get burned up by Vince Vaughn, in a furnace of some sort. This is good because now I can tell you what happens with the whole accusation against Vince Vaughn stuff.

I gotta say that I really like Vince Vaughn. He's good in just about every role I've seen him in. It's not that he's great in every role, but he's got a common, everyman type of thread that comes through in each film. He's the only reason I saw The Cell, which was my first Jennifer Lopez movie ever. I probably got her best work. Vince Vaughn plays the dad in this movie, he's the heartless killer knocked off Steve Buscemi, who is another gem for his short time on screen (what else is new?).

In a foreseeable twist of fate, John Travolta, the kid's dad, decides that he has to learn what happened to Steve Buscemi, and find out if his kid is a lying little bastard. There are some convenient circumstances in this movie that make it more predictable. For example, Travolta is a wooden boat builder, but no one uses wooden boats anymore.

OOH-- this is a good part-- Travolta goes to pick up his kid, but the wife wants to take him home instead. Some guy goes to help her an he gets his ass punched out. Travolta takes the kid, then gets caught by the cops. He has to try to get custody after that, but loses because the kid's got some puss pants on and he does what Vince Vaughn says so that he doesn't get hurt. Oh yeah, Travolta's girlfriend left him because he was trying to get custody. She didn't think Vince is a killer. What an assface.

Travolta, who conveniently has a drinking problem, causes yet another ruckus at an awards dinner for Vaughn. This ends in some shifty footwork by the son, but not enough work to accomplish anything constructive, so we're docking him some more points. Travolta's wheels start spinning though, and he starts looking for Buscemi (who played the aforementioned dead guy). Motel after motel and Travolta finally found him! Phew. Turns out he's a pizza-loving whore monger-- God love that Buscemi!

Travolta locates the hooker who spent time with Buscemi and gets some stuff that he once touched in hopes of tracing some prints. Didn't work, but he's hot on the trail. Time goes on and minds mill around-- then Travolta finds that Jack Parnell is the real name of Vince Vaughn's character he calls the po-po and then gets clubbed in the back of the head by Vaughn-- of all people. Anyway then he sets the boat house on fire and hopes Travolta dies-- no way in hell man. We're talking about the guy from Grease all the way to Pulp Fiction. You can't keep his ass down. Vaughn also accidentally lights his own arm on fire too, which leaves a wound that proves to the wife that he's finally a suspicious character.

She tries to escape with the boy, but it's no use-- Vaughn won't let them out of his sight. Our big race for safety comes when Vaughn realizes something's up. They all race around and John Travolta shows up in time to get smacked with a paint can. That's hard, but not hard enough. He kicks Vaughn's ass and so concludes our movie in an abrupt ending with no tie-up-the-loose-ends segment at the end.

This decidedly short movie isn't the worst flick to come across my table, but it's so lush with mediocrity that it can't be ignored. I'd like to offer some middle-class award for this dose of mid-level entertainment. Hats off to Vaughn and Travolta-- you got your paycheck and that's all that matters.