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Domestic Disturbance
Paramount Pictures


8.4

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for violence, brief sexuality and language

Starring John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Matthew O'Leary, and Steve Buscemi

When a divorced father (Travolta) discovers that his ex-wife's new husband (Vaughn) is not what he claims to be, he realizes that his son's life may be in danger and is determined to save him.

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Lewis Colick (also story) William S. Comanor (story) Gary Drucker (story)
DIRECTED BY:	Harold Becker
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 16, 2002 Video: April 16, 2002 Theatrical: November 2, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	88 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Every signifier in this quintessentially American domestic thriller is in satisfying running order.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A thriller that presses all the buttons: parental love, childhood terror, fear of Vince Vaughn.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Doesn't make nearly the ripple it could have made.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A refreshingly unpretentious little thriller.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Although decked out with a legitimate star and handsome production carpentry, pic takes no greater interest in creating three-dimensional characters or fleshing out a credible storyline than does the run-of-the-mill straight-to-video thriller.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Travolta, a bit portly (or is it starboardly?), phones in his performance from his place in Maine; Vaughn is ice-cool but not especially convincing; the kid is OK, and Polo is a blank.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Does a masterful job of building menace until about halfway through.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

It's predictable stuff, though with a nice old-fashioned edge.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is a paid holiday for its director, Harold Becker. I say this because I know what Becker is capable of.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Why Travolta is slumming in B movies is anybody's guess. (I'll take a wild flier: "Battlefield Earth"?)

USA Today Mike Clark

Anyone who sees this movie is going to be 20 minutes ahead of it, though there won't be that many after Weekend 1. With domestic disturbances, someone calls the cops. With this DOA, someone had better call the coroner.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

There's almost no reason to see the movie, unless you have no qualms about wasting your time.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Sttrictly movie-of-the-week stuff. And not very good stuff, at that.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The film's subtexts are profoundly reactionary. Women are foolish and untrustworthy.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Few movies feel quite so perfunctory or needless or pointless as this one.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie is pure product, and proud of it: There isn't a single surprising moment in all of its 88 minutes, because Domestic Disturbance is designed to stick to tried-and-true formulas, instead of shaking them up a little.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

It's clear from the outset that a thriller is going to be big and dumb -- as opposed to tight and smart.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The script is woefully inept, with plot twists that wouldn't pass muster in a high-school drama class.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

So TV-movie-of-the-week that you wonder throughout why you can't use a remote to find a decent ballgame.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Jettisoning any ambition toward thrillerhood, Domestic Disturbance becomes a plodding, obvious angry-dad melodrama, ambling toward the final, fatal showdown between parent and usurper.

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

Travolta is stuck giving a remarkable performance in a film so trivial and offensive its mere existence is as loathsome as it is laughable.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It's likely there's going to be some “viewer disturbance” going on after audiences catch a whiff of this routine and thrill-less suspenser.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

The most surprising thing about the movie is that somebody bothered to make it in the first place.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

The real "disturbance" in Domestic Disturbance is not in the home, but in the careers of all involved.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

Absurd beyond belief or reason.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

As the basest form of genre hootenanny, it wimps out: There's no twist, no showboat acting, not even an outrageous crisis of paternal violence.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Isi gave it a10:
Great movie! Matthew O'leary is such a great actor and he is SOO HOT!

*~nikki~* M. gave it a10:
This movie rocked. main reason cause matt o'leary was in it. he was great for one of his first thrillers but i thought he was a little better in frailty. matt you are such a hottie!!! hope to see you in another movie. love you alot!

Rachel G. gave it a10:
Hey I loved this movie I watch it all the time and couldn't have asked for a better movie or a better HOTT actor like Matthew. John is even as hott too. I wish their was a part 2 to this movie I bet it would be awesome! If u haven't seen this movie your'll love it! Oh by the way John and Matthew are either one of you single?

Pat C. gave it a 4:
Another warning that the authorities, not you, are the parents of your children. But don't expect them to intervene until they've done more harm to your child than the perpetrator.

Danni gave it a 10:
I just want to say this movie would have to be one of the best movies I have ever seen. Oh and one more thing Matthew O'Leary is SO HOT I'd go out with him ANYDAY:D.

Kristen B. gave it a 10:
I think that this was the best movie in the world!!! Not only is Matthew o leary really hot but i think the movie was very suspenseful and believable.

Dave R. gave it a 4:
Seeing all these 10s after seeing this movie last night gives me pause about the future of America. This movie was so predictable I could've written it. The two women in it should be ashamed to read their lines, much less act them. Travolta and Vaughn showed up and collected their pay. You folks who gave this a 10 need to get a life.

Domestic Disturbance Paramount Pictures

Domestic Disturbance
Paramount Pictures