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Parents' Guide to

Domestic Disturbance

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Dark, suspenseful thriller has mature themes, profanity.

Movie PG-13 2001 89 minutes
Domestic Disturbance Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

age 14+

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

It's hard to tell if John Travolta is trying to play his role as more of a laid-back recovering alcoholic or if his performance is simply flat and uninspired. In some scenes, he comes across as almost bored. Still, there's enough action and twists to make this a semi-enjoyable tale of suspense and mystery.

While the suspense in this thriller is heightened by Vince Vaughn's undercurrents of violence and general creepiness as the murderous stepfather with a dark past, what prevents DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE from being anything better than average are the storyline's cliches. There is a police detective who doesn't believe the story of murder and deceit coming out of the mouth of a tween boy. There is a tween boy who has cried wolf one too many times, and now that the proverbial wolf is here, no one believes him. There is a wicked stepfather. It all follows a predictable-enough formula, even if there are occasional unexpected moments.

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