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Flirting with Disaster
1996
Comedy
1h 32m
In a quest to find his biological parents, Mel Coplin (Stiller) -- joined by his wife (Arquette) and a sexy adoption counselor (Leoni) -- embarks on a cross country search for his "roots." (Miramax)
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Flirting with Disaster
1996
Comedy
1h 32m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 52.32% from 613 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(618)
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Rated 14 Aug 2007
12
5th
this was gay
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 26 Jan 2013
75
80th
No matter the way you look at it -- a romcom about couples having/adopting/desiring babies, or a road movie about grown-ups acting like kids, or just a very well-acted dialogue showroom full of mishaps, sex jokes and misunderstandings --, it feels impressive, absurd and lovely all at once. Stiller would latter repeat this kind of shy, seinfeldian, come-on-guys-what-did-I-do-? kind of acting, but the rest of the cast is amazing, specially Josh and Richard as the couple of gay feds.
Rated 26 Jan 2013
Rated 15 May 2012
44
8th
Utterly baffling, bewildering farce has absolutely no handle on reality, and is populated by generally unfunny, overdrawn caricatures -- though Jenkins is a hoot as an officious pest, and Alda and Tomlin have a few nice moments as ageing hippies. Overall though, its reliance on overdone eccentricity sinks it (exemplified by the embarassingly bad performances by Segal and Moore.)
Rated 15 May 2012
Rated 30 Sep 2014
1
20th
Wacky-family sex-com filled with loads of bullshit pop-psycho-babble. Only made it halfway, another DOR miss.
Rated 30 Sep 2014
Rated 05 Sep 2010
4
35th
Too much self indulgent improv and not enough script to keep me happy. Laughed a few times but with this cast it should've been much better. Another David O. Russell disappointment.
Rated 05 Sep 2010
Rated 10 Oct 2014
12
1st
There is a term 'roaring twenties'. Watching movies from the 90's like this one a term 'retarded nineties' comes to mind. I lost count how many times watching this unfunny and unromantic rom-com I got the feeling that I must have misheard/mis-seen it. Watching Stiller getting blowjob while he's holding a baby in his arms was one of those moments. Cigarette companies must have paid well for all the smoking promotion, the last scene with pregnant woman smoking a cigarette was just wrong.
Rated 10 Oct 2014
Rated 25 May 2009
20
44th
The fresh material -- blood-drawing jabs at the hallowed institution of B&B's -- is overpowered by the stale: the caricatured Jewish couple, the pop-song montage, the bonking with a frying pan. The term "screwball comedy" will inevitably come to mind, prudently to be followed by a reminder that that's just a label, not a laurel.
Rated 25 May 2009
Rated 22 Dec 2008
90
81st
Excellent movie. Well paced. Kind of a forgotten gem.
Rated 22 Dec 2008
Rated 07 Dec 2008
11
3rd
Insipid. Leoni is a very bad actress. Further, the storyline is ludicrous. Certain movies make you feel worse for having watched them. This is one of those.
Rated 07 Dec 2008
Rated 09 Aug 2008
80
79th
Here's a bizarre film that works on its own quirky palate. Ben Stiller, the brunt of all awkward situational comedy, delivers a great performance among a talented cast. O'Russell's film isn't exactly bust-a-gut laughs, and often works better as observational humor but the movie grows more and more ridiculous and even more humorous as it goes on. This film is definitely not for everyone, but it's ultra-wacky and a bit in its own world, and for that I thought it was somewhat brilliant.
Rated 09 Aug 2008
Rated 20 Nov 2016
82
77th
A really solid, funny and engaging comedy. All the characters face similair crises in their relationships. The movie builds in its sense of crazy mishap adventure. Squarely within the screwball genre, so go in expecting that and you really won't be disappointed. Some of the conflict dialogue (especially from Arquette's character) does get a little too uncomfortable at times, where the veneer of comedy is broken. The roadtripping aspect made for a heightened sense of anticipation.
Rated 20 Nov 2016
Rated 07 Sep 2016
2
17th
surprised people seem to prefer the first hour as i had the opposite response - it's largely inept and trite until everything's amped up to 11 in the final act and russell finally seems like he knows what kind of film he's making. it's still pretty played out, but it's smoother and funnier and most importantly WEIRDER, the highlights being glenn fitzgerald's bizarre, terrible performance (MVP: the quail song), josh brolin licking an armpit and richard jenkins tripping his nuts on LSD.
Rated 07 Sep 2016
Rated 16 Dec 2015
69
58th
Some really funny parts, but it gets a little too cartoonish at times. Brolin and Jenkins are probably the highlights, but the whole cast is pretty good.
Rated 16 Dec 2015
Rated 08 Jul 2018
60
20th
Mary Tyler Moore's first scene had me worried I was gonna despise this movie, but it got more tolerable as it went along. It relies too much on the comedy of irrational people doing illogical things, and Russell has improved his sense of exhilarating chaos in subsequent films, but there's still some enjoyable aspects to it, and the cast is pretty good.
Rated 08 Jul 2018
Rated 22 Aug 2015
12
10th
Couldn't finish it. Script is horrible, characters are loathsome, the story is nonsense. No matter where you dive into David O. Russell's career you find false substance and emptiness.
Rated 22 Aug 2015
Rated 20 Jul 2015
85
59th
Viewed July 19, 2015. Hilarious and odd comedy that never hits a dull moment across its running time. It's propelled by the kind of snappy energy that characterizes David O. Russell at his best, and held together by a dynamite cast. Russell is always praised for the performances he gets out of people, and this is maybe his best ensemble. A road trip comedy on steroids - or maybe, more accurately, LSD.
Rated 20 Jul 2015
Rated 20 Dec 2020
60
39th
It had the potential of being a classic with such unique characters but it's ruined with poor dialogues and rushed storytelling.
Rated 20 Dec 2020
Rated 26 Jan 2015
84
74th
Starts slow, and ends messily, yet I found it rather witty throughout, enough to keep a fairly consistent tone across the movie, enjoyable straight through. The story keeps escalating into more and more ridiculous situations, but the tone of the humor (and the performances) stays pretty flat throughout, which does feel a little jarring though.
Rated 26 Jan 2015
Rated 21 Apr 2021
85
15th
I somehow missed this Ben Stiller comedy along the way, but I didn't quite get it. Entertaining enough to watch but not too funny, for me.
Rated 21 Apr 2021
Rated 11 Oct 2021
62
31st
Flirting with Disaster has its moments, but O.Russell's dialogue is frustratingly limp and his characters equally as annoying. Arquette does a decent job; Jenkins and Brolin are a fun pairing; but it's Alda and Tomlin who briefly steal the limelight, the anthesis of Moore and Segal who keep popping up and killing the mood. Ultimately it's a comedy of errors but light on the comedy, substance, and character relatability.
Rated 11 Oct 2021
Rated 28 Feb 2023
90
87th
Like Greg Mottola's "The Daytrippers", this captures the spirit of classic Hollywood comedies but brings it up to the 1990's. We needed more Mary Tyler Moore in film.
Rated 28 Feb 2023
Rated 28 May 2007
50
33rd
Attempt at modern-day screwball comedy that doesn't really work. Kind of interesting, but mainly for some of the casting, e.g. George Segal still keeping up his "neurotic New York Jew" act all these years later
Rated 28 May 2007
Rated 20 Feb 2024
60
25th
I'mveryanalaboutanaletclmao
Rated 20 Feb 2024
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
43rd
Stiller has his moments, but he is not free to fully let loose as he does in Keeping the Faith and Along came Polly
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
69
33rd
Gets a little too madcap/wacky at the end, but still worth a watch.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
61
40th
Looking for a decent comedy that's not too heavy and easy on the brain? Flirting with Disaster fits the bill as an enjoyable time-killer.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 22 Mar 2008
85
64th
The last 20 minutes or so of this movie are funny enough to make you piss yourself at least 4 times.
Rated 22 Mar 2008
Rated 06 May 2008
66
60th
Bizarre and quite funny in places, but the humor is all a little too predicated on discomfort for me to really enjoy this.
Rated 06 May 2008
Rated 11 Jul 2008
82
85th
"You're not B & B people!" Truer words were never spoken.
Rated 11 Jul 2008
Rated 03 Jan 2013
35
17th
Pretty depressing for a screwball comedy. I don't enjoy watching people who are supposed to love each other being treated like shit for two hours. It's painful, not funny. They should've tried adding a character who isn't a wretch of a person..
Rated 03 Jan 2013
Rated 01 Dec 2008
70
70th
Not bad and sometimes funny, really hilarious short story.
Good for a comedy. Worth seeing !
Rated 01 Dec 2008
Rated 27 Dec 2008
0
11th
Rated 13 Mar 2009
50
39th
Determinedly offbeat and full of comic twists, not all of which pay off; still, a cut above the norm for contemporary comedy. Moore and Segal make a great neurotic Jewish couple, matched by Tomlin and Alda as middle-aged flower children.
Rated 13 Mar 2009
Rated 27 Apr 2010
75
74th
Fantastic cast, I really liked it.
Rated 27 Apr 2010
Rated 21 Sep 2010
69
73rd
Just misses out on being a really good comedy but still well worth the watch. Leoni is the weak spot but the rest of the cast actually all work well.
Rated 21 Sep 2010
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