Finally a thriller with some big names like John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. This one has to be better than the suspenseful crap that has been out as of late.

Nope. Chalk up another one in the crap category.

Actually the acting is great, and the story has potential, but with its predictability and rushed ending, “Domestic Disturbance” falls disappointingly short.

It tells the story of a boy named Danny (Matthew O’Leary), a troubled 11-year-old who is struggling with his divorced mother, Susan (Teri Polo), and her new husband, Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn).

When Danny accidentally witnesses Rick killing a man, he tries to tell all, but with his troubled past of dealing with the divorce, Danny’s lack of credibility leaves everyone thinking he’s lying except his real father, Frank (Travolta).

A father/stepfather war ensues, but Rick’s nice-guy image has everyone on his side.

The only thing that keeps this film somewhat entertaining is its acting. Along with solid performances from Travolta and Polo, Vaughn, shines as usual. His ability to play a good guy, a bad guy or a good-guy-turned-bad guy is unique and shows in this movie.

As far as child acting goes, O’Leary isn’t bad. On one hand, he handles witnessing a murder as an 11-year-old pretty well. But on the other, he whines more than Haley Joel Osment.

Also coming through with some good acting is Steve Buscemi. Much like Will Ferrell, a Buscemi appearance almost always equals good entertainment in a film.

But director Harold Becker failed miserably in taking advantage of such a superior cast. So much more could have been done with the characters and their interactions, but the much-anticipated Travolta/Vaughn scenes are nowhere to be found.

Then the film ends so suddenly that a bathroom break or a sneeze would cause you to miss the ending. With the movie being so short, it makes you wonder why half of the clips you see in the previews don’t even show up in the final cut.

This is also one of those movies where every time a door shuts or it shows someone looking in the mirror, you just know there’s going to be someone there for a good scare.

In the movie review business, that is called lame predictability.

The sad thing is that you can have all the good acting you want in a movie, but when nothing else falls into place you have yourself a big pile of crap.

“Domestic Disturbance” was supposed to be better than the other thrillers of the season such as “The Glass House,” but the one hour and 20 minute length of this flick just doesn’t cut it.

Travolta has made a habit of doing bad movies from time to time, but hopefully Vaughn will bounce back with something a little better.

**

Kyle Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He know he sucks at reviewing movies so there’s no need to tell him.