SUPERSTAR John Travolta is a simple guy named Frank, a recovering alcoholic struggling to maintain the family shipbuilding business in Domestic Disturbance.

Now that his ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) has divorced him, his son Danny (Matt O'Leary) is constantly at the police station for one problem or another.

So when Susan marries Rick (Vince Vaughn), Frank thinks he will provide the financial stability that Danny needs to clean up his act.

Then, mysterious Ray (Steve Buscemi) rolls into town and claims to be an old friend of Rick's.

But Rick tells a different story, making Frank wary of them both. When Ray suddenly disappears, Danny claims that he witnessed Rick murder him. Susan thinks it's just another one of Danny's lies, but Frank isn't so sure.

He investigates Rick's background and finds that the new man in his former wife's life isn't at all he appears to be.

Director Harold Becker delivers plenty of melodrama in a well-made but extremely predictable thriller.

But put Vince Vaughn in a decent suit, tell him to smile and be nice with everyone he meets and his characters will still ooze evil. Put that together with Travolta's Mr Nice Guy and you have the makings of a good popcorn flick for the boys.

n Also opening today is Rat Race, a comedy which features two of Britain's greatest comic talents - John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson.

Cleese plays Donald Sinclair, one of the richest men in Las Vegas, who owns one of the area's most prominent hotels and casinos.

He prides himself on delivering the most outrageous thrills for his guests and devises the ultimate betting experience, The Rat Race.

Sinclair offers six strangers the chance to win $2 million - all they have to do is race each other to a train station locker in Silver City, New Mexico. The first person to get to the locker and open it wins.

Among the hopefuls are a strait-laced businessman (Breckin Meyer), a zany mother (Whoopi Goldberg) recently reunited with her daughter (Lanei Chap-man), a pair of slacker dudes (Seth Green, Vince Vieluf), a deranged father (Jon Lovitz), a shamed football referee (Cuba Gooding Jr) and a crazy Italian (Atkinson).

As the contestants use every form of transport imaginable to beat each other to the prize, Sinclair and his guests take bets on who will arrive first.