DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE

Becker’s tepid thriller tries to turn attention away from foreign terrorism and back to more American brands of violence. Modest, hard-working divorcé Frank Morrison (John Travolta) has a swell father/son relationship with his estranged son, Danny (Matthew O’Leary), despite the boy’s misbehavior, as they bond over their mutual hatred of Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn), who’s beguiled Frank’s ex (Teri Polo). It’s only when Rick’s malignant ex-partner Ray (Steve Buscemi) crashes the wedding that Frank gets suspicious of Rick’s millionaire status.

To cover up, Rick offs Ray at the nearest convenient brickyard. The problem for Danny is he’s hiding in the back seat. The problem for Frank is that a notorious criminal in hiding is threatening his son. The problem for Harold Becker is, nobody buys it. From the local police’s refusal to investigate to the way amateur detective Frank unravels the premise within a couple of clicks on the Internet — not to mention the gratuitous slapping of wife and kid — Domestic Disturbance’s implausibility feels like audience abuse.

— Jonathan Stern