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Flirting with Disaster

Universal acclaim
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by: David O. Russell
Directed by: David O. Russell
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 22, 1996
DVD: January 13, 2004
Running Time: 92 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Lily Tomlin, and Josh Brolin
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)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: I Heart Huckabees Three Kings
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
A buoyant, picaresque farce that hums with goofy energy and mines enough ideas, jokes and setups for three movies of this description.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
Upon all these folks, writer-director David O. Russell turns a bland, almost anthropological eye. Nothing surprises him and nothing outrages him, except for bed-and-breakfast lodgings, about which, at last, his movie tells the terrible truth. [1 April 1996, p. 72]
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Flirting With Disaster, like that Energizer Bunny, keeps on going. But in this case, the perpetual motion is a deliciously hysterical rush.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Hal Hinson
Writer-director David O. Russell's exhilarating follow-up to "Spanking the Monkey," is even wilder, giddier and more unpredictable than that irreverent debut.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
Mr. Russell's wonderfully mad odyssey of a movie, in which a man sets out to find his biological parents and winds up meeting more weirdos than Alice found down the rabbit hole.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
A comedy that surfs from beginning to end on a wave of high spirits. The tone is young but not juvenile, sexy but not cynical, optimistic but not stupid. [22 April 1996, p.28]
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Has the sort of headlong confidence the genre requires. Russell finds the strong central line all screwball begins with, the seemingly serious mission or quest, and then throws darts at a map of the United States as he creates his characters.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Not as corrosive as Russell's debut feature, "Spanking the Monkey," it's just as wild, just as strange, and even funnier.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Andy Klein
Hilarious--a terrific updating of ancient farce conventions for the '90s.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not credited)
Although it eventually throws more balls in the air than it can easily juggle, Flirting with Disaster is, most of the time, a diabolically clever satire that has its way with any number of contemporary shiboleths.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Steve Davis
Taking the concept of the dysfunctional family to a degree that might even boggle Leo Tolstoy's mind, Flirting With Disaster is every son or daughter's nightmare multiplied.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Flirting is a little too weighed down with stage business to soar. But episode for episode, it's one of the ha-ha-funniest movies currently around.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Not credited)
Highly unlikely plot complications never once threaten to throw this remarkably amusing film off-track, thanks to the narrative intelligence of writer-director David O. Russell, the only member of the filmmaking bratpack who seems to understand how movies work and why they entertain.
Read Full Review >Newsweek Jeff Giles
The old pros cavort grandly. Moore even strips down to a black bra and panties, and rolls in bed with her husband (George Segal).
The New Yorker Terrence Rafferty
Despite some expert performances --the picture remains as confused as its hero; unlike him, it never does find its identity.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The results are watchable enough--sometimes funny, sometimes over the top--and fairly fresh, though also a bit calculated.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
David gave it a9:
As good as Secrets and Lies, Bound, Shine, Fargo and other 1996 flick.
