|
|
Flirting With Disaster
on DVD (1996)
|
|
Brief synopsis of Flirting With Disaster
Writer-director David O. Russell follows up his dark independent comedy SPANKING THE MONKEY with this hilarious romp about a man who goes on a quest to find his biological parents. Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller), a new father, is convinced that he won't be able to give his son a name until he reunites with his real mother and father. So Mel, his depressed, neglected wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette), and a sexy adoption consultant named Tina (Tea Leoni) set out to find them. By the time they reach the New Mexico home of Mel's true parents (Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin)--two laid-back hippie scientists who are in the LSD business--Mel's marriage appears to be completely demolished. But the wackiness doesn't end there, since his neurotic, overbearing adoptive parents (George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore) arrive just in time to add even greater confusion to the mix.
Russell assembles a cast who have contributed greatly to the development of American screen comedy, and they throw themselves into their roles with great fervor. Commenting on identity, sexual and cultural prejudice, and the convention of marriage, Russell's script is a farcical laugh-fest that is at once intelligent, fast-paced, and witty. His assured, grounded direction makes FLIRTING WITH DISASTER's humour all the more outrageous and hysterical.
|
Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
Less abrasive than Spanking the Monkey, David O Russell's second feature is a madcap, country-crossing comedy, which makes up in eccentric characterisation what it occasionally loses in control. As the orphan hoping to trace his roots before naming his new baby, Ben Stiller is suitably neurotic as ditzy psychologist Téa Leoni leads him up endless blind alleys. But it's the cameos by adoptive parents Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal, and ageing hippies Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin that steal Stiller's thunder and further marginalise the under-used Patricia Arquette, who seeks solace with a bisexual FBI agent. Great screwball, shame about the slapstick.
Time Out
Mel (Stiller) has a wife, Nancy (Arquette), an as yet unnamed baby, and a 'psychic need' to track down his biological...
Read more on www.timeout.com
Halliwell's Film Guide
Witty road movie about a search for identity and new possibilities.
See all 3 Critics Reviews »
Members Reviews
Reviews Voted Most Helpful
Most Recent Reviews
|
|
