Flirting With Disaster (Collector's Edition)
by David O. Russell
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ben Stiller, George Segal, Mary Tyler Moore, Patricia Arquette, Téa LeoniDirector: David O. Russell
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Writer: David O. Russell
Producer: Bob Weinstein
Producer: Christopher Goode
Producer: Dean Silvers
Producer: Harvey Weinstein
Producer: Kerry Orent
Producer: Trea Leventhal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Flirting With Disaster (Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Disastrously Funny!
Summary: 5 Stars
All the characters play their roles with perfect comic genius, and this film pulls off a trick that few comedies can: you actually care about the characters as you would in a drama. Virtually every scene is funny and there are plenty of surprises, keeping you chuckling and on your toes at the same time.
To be honest, since the movie stars Ben Stiller, I expected juvenile humor (you know, I'm thinking about gooey hair gel as in Something About Mary and heads exploding off as in Tropic Thunder. And then there's Starsky and Hutch). But now I see that when Ben gets a great script, like this one, he's very good. Everyone in this great cast works together as an ensemble; no one character steals the show, though they all shine in their own way. This is an example of the sum of the parts being greater - and funnier - than the whole.
Some of the themes and scenes touch on sex and sexuality, but I think it's okay to watch with teenage kids, if you have them. It doesn't promote or make light of risky or irresponsible behavior.
The DVD contains deleted scenes - there are three of them - and for once I agree with the editors that they should have been cut.
If it seems like I'm not saying much about the plot, that's because I don't want to spoil any of the laughs or surprises. You already know that it's about an adopted man who wants to meet his biological parents. I won't do you any favors by telling you more, but do yourself a favor and watch this hilarious movie!
Summary of Flirting With Disaster (Collector's Edition)
Written and directed by David O. Russell (THREE KINGS, SPANKING THE MONKEY), this hysterically original comedy was cheered by critics and audiences nationwide. In a quest to find his biological parents, Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller, DUPLEX, MEET THE PARENTS) -- joined by his wife (Patricia Arquette, HUMAN NATURE, HOLES), and a sexy adoption counselor (Téa Leoni, PEOPLE I KNOW, HOLLYWOOD ENDING ) -- embarks on a cross country search for his "roots." Yet as he careens from one outrageous situation to another, Mel finds himself tempted by the seductive counselor -- even as his wife starts a flirtation of her own! By the time they meet up with his free-spirited birth parents, the whole situation is spinning hysterically out of control! Also starring Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, and Lily Tomlin, this hilarious hit is sure to entertain everyone!Sometimes a filmmaker's second movie gets labeled as a sophomore slump. David O. Russell (Spanking the Monkey) shreds that fate with Flirting with Disaster, an outrageous, free-spirited comedy about private people forced into public situations. Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) finds the opportunity he's been waiting a lifetime for: an adoption agency rep (Téa Leoni) has located his birth parents and the agency will fly him to California if they can record the reunion. With wife Nancy (Patricia Arquette) and new son in tow, the neurotic Mel is compelled to discover his origins, despite the protests of his neurotic adoptive parents (a wonderful Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal). To give away the plot any more would be a crime, but as the title states, Mel is on a collision course of Oedipal proportions. Russell, who made incest an intriguing black-comedy topic in Spanking, is very liberal with sex and permits dangerous situations. His characters mix it up at a moment's notice. The two women along for the ride are not just bit players: Leoni (Deep Impact) keeps her high-energy comic routine flying, while the grounded Arquette keeps the baby in arm, despite the mad wanderings of her husband. Stiller is a perfect comic foil. --Doug Thomas
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