The essence of dysfunctional

A domestic disturbance is usually associated with family fighting, divorce and neighbors calling the police because of the noise. Rarely is it associated with a new stepson accusing his stepfather of murder, but the filmmakers of "Domestic Disturbance" feel that this is strong title to describe the unsuspenseful movie that deals with the situation. \nDanny (Mathew O'Leary) is an 11-year-old boy who is in trouble with the law, but only because his parents got divorced. He's not too happy that his mom is getting married again. The boy hates his new stepfather, Rick (Vince Vaughn), a rich and much loved new citizen to the Maryland coast, and no one believes Danny when he claims he saw Rick murder someone and dispose of the body. The only one that believes the far-fetched tale is the boy's biological father, Frank, (John Travolta), because as Frank says, "Danny may lie to everyone else, but he doesn't lie to me."\nThe story is supposed to be a thrill-ride adventure, but everything is predictable, especially since you witness Rick murder his long-time friend Ray (Steve Buscemi). The only thing the audience really doesn't know is why he did it, and who Rick used to be. \nThe film could have been a lot worse, but good talent brought the movie to a higher level. The acting is good, but O'Leary is a little unemotional and the story is just too run-of-the-mill. The film tries to hide things so the audience will not figure them out, but only a very unintelligent movie-goer will not understand. The film never comes out and says that Frank used to be an alcoholic, but the writer shoves it in the audiences face by showing Travolta drinking Coke after turning down alcohol offers multiple times when everyone else is drinking beer and champagne. He later goes back to drinking to prove this to you and to also show why no one believes him about the stepfather-murderer.\nIf you don't want to sit down and think hard to figure out a movie, then you should rent this if there really isn't anything else worth watching. If you want a thrilling adventure, see something else.