Flirting with Disaster (1996)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

David O. Russell

Writer (WGA):

David O. Russell (written by)

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Have you flirted yet?

Plot:

A young man, his wife, and his incompetent case worker travel across country to find his birth parents.

Plot Keywords:

Adoption | Mistaken Identity | New Mexico | Adopted Son | Infant Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Mel Coplin
Patricia Arquette	...	Nancy Coplin
Téa Leoni	...	Tina Kalb
Alan Alda	...	Richard Schlichting
Mary Tyler Moore	...	Pearl Coplin
George Segal	...	Ed Coplin
Lily Tomlin	...	Mary Schlichting
Josh Brolin	...	Tony Kent
Richard Jenkins	...	Paul Harmon
Celia Weston	...	Valerie Swaney
Glenn Fitzgerald	...	Lonnie Schlichting
Beth Ostrosky	...	Jane
Cynthia Lamontagne	...	Sandra
David Patrick Kelly	...	Fritz Boudreau
John Ford Noonan	...	Mitch

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality and a comic drug scene.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | USA:R (certificate #34425) | Finland:S | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Goofs:

Continuity: The shoulder with the towel and the baby.

Quotes:

Tony: Nancy was saying you were having some tension about oral sex.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Matters: Flirting with Disaster (#8.21)" (1997)

Howard Hawks on acid!

David O. Russell's 1996 flick "Flirting with Disaster" might not leave the audience feeling dirty afterward like his prior work "Spanking the Monkey", but what it lacks in controversy it makes up for in over the top wackiness. This is modern-day dark edged screwball comedy that would like make master filmmaker Howard Hawks ("His Girl Friday", "Bringing Up Baby") proud.

Russell's film weaves the ludicrous story of a thirty year old, first time father who can't overcome the challenges of not knowing his birth parents enough to see his wife's sexual advances or even give his kid a name. Who else could we expect to see in a role so heavily stacked with Murphy's Law possibilities than that consummate lovable loser Ben Stiller? Before we know it he, his wife, and an incompetent adoption case worker set out to meet his birth parents.

What follows is the full range of comedic possibilities from the standard road trip to off-the-wall characterizations, mistaken identity, love triangles, attempted murder, and armpit fetishism. Somehow it all flows so brilliantly that all of the craziness becomes quite plausible in what turns out to be a film that is a bit charming and damn funny.