Flirting with Disaster
Encyclopedia
Flirting with Disaster is a 1996 American comedy film
written and directed by David O. Russell
about a young father's search for his biological parents. The film stars Ben Stiller
, Patricia Arquette
, Téa Leoni
, Mary Tyler Moore
, George Segal
, Alan Alda
and Lily Tomlin
. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard
section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival
.
, Mel decides to meet her personally.
Tina, the sexy but highly incompetent adoption agency employee, decides to accompany Mel, Nancy, and the newborn on a trip to San Diego to meet Mel's biological mother. The trip, of course, does not go as planned, and ends up becoming a tour of the United States.
First, Mel is introduced to Valerie, a blond Scandinavian woman with Confederate roots whose twin daughters are at least six inches taller than Mel. They quickly realize that Valerie is not Mel's biological mother, and Tina scrambles to get the correct information from the agency database. Meanwhile, Nancy becomes jealous as Tina and Mel begin to flirt.
Next, the group heads to rural Michigan with the hope of meeting the man whose name appears as the person who delivered infant Mel to the adoption agency. The man, Fritz Boudreau, turns out to be a trucker with a violent streak. However, when he discovers that Mel might be his son, he becomes instantly friendly and lets Mel drive his semi-trailer truck
, which Mel immediately crashes into a Post Office building.
This leads to a run-in with two ATF agents, Tony and Paul, who are gay
and in a relationship with each other. It is discovered that Tony and Nancy went to high school together. Charges are dismissed, and Fritz Boudreau tells Mel that he is not Mel's father, but only handled Mel's adoption because Mel's biological parents were incapacitated. Tina locates the current address of Mel's biological parents, which turns out to be in rural New Mexico. Tony and Paul surprise everyone by deciding to tag along on the trip.
While Mel and Tina become close, Nancy finds herself flirting
with Tony, who returns the compliment, causing friction. The trip through rural New Mexico is fraught with more problems. At last the whole crowd descends on the front porch of Mel's true biological parents, Richard and Mary Schlichting. They are asked to stay the night. While Richard and Mary are more than welcoming, Mel's biological brother Lonnie is overly rude and jealous. It is during dinner that Mel discovers that Richard and Mary had to let Mel be adopted
because they were in jail for making and distributing LSD
in the late 1960s. Not only that, but Richard and Mary continue to manufacture LSD
, as becomes apparent when Lonnie, in an attempt to dose Mel with acid at dinner, accidentally doses Paul, the ATF agent.
In his drugged state Paul tries to arrest Richard and Mary but Lonnie knocks him out with a frying pan. They attempt to escape and decide to take Mel's car, hiding their supply of acid in the trunk. Mel's adoptive parents arrive but then change their minds and decide to leave, taking the wrong car. When they change their minds again and make a blind U-turn, the two families crash. Mel's adoptive parents are arrested while his biological parents escape to Mexico.
Not realizing what has happened Mel recounts the stories from dinner to Nancy and they agree to name the baby Garcia
. The next day Paul explains the situation and is able to get Mel's parents released, and they are happy and reassured to hear Mel call them his parents. A montage of their relationships continues over the credits. They all still have their troubles but Mel and Nancy are happy together.
rated the film as "Certified Fresh" giving it a 85% based on 41 reviews, with the Top 5 critics giving it 100%.
that includes the following tracks
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by David O. Russell
David O. Russell
David Owen Russell is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been praised for the loose, comic energy that characterizes his work, and is notorious for his explosive confrontations with cast members.-Early life:...
about a young father's search for his biological parents. The film stars Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
, Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
, Téa Leoni
Téa Leoni
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
, Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
, Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
and Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival
1996 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Francis Ford Coppola *Nathalie Baye *Greta Scacchi, actrice *Michael Ballhaus *Henry Chapier *Atom Egoyan *Eiko Ishioka *Krzysztof Piesiewicz *Antonio Tabucchi...
.
Plot
Mel Coplin and his wife, Nancy, live in New York, near Mel's neurotic, Jewish, adoptive parents, Ed and Pearl Coplin. Mel and Nancy have just had their first child, and they refuse to name their son until Mel can discover the identity of his biological parents. After an adoption agency employee locates his biological mother's name in a databaseDatabase
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
, Mel decides to meet her personally.
Tina, the sexy but highly incompetent adoption agency employee, decides to accompany Mel, Nancy, and the newborn on a trip to San Diego to meet Mel's biological mother. The trip, of course, does not go as planned, and ends up becoming a tour of the United States.
First, Mel is introduced to Valerie, a blond Scandinavian woman with Confederate roots whose twin daughters are at least six inches taller than Mel. They quickly realize that Valerie is not Mel's biological mother, and Tina scrambles to get the correct information from the agency database. Meanwhile, Nancy becomes jealous as Tina and Mel begin to flirt.
Next, the group heads to rural Michigan with the hope of meeting the man whose name appears as the person who delivered infant Mel to the adoption agency. The man, Fritz Boudreau, turns out to be a trucker with a violent streak. However, when he discovers that Mel might be his son, he becomes instantly friendly and lets Mel drive his semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
, which Mel immediately crashes into a Post Office building.
This leads to a run-in with two ATF agents, Tony and Paul, who are gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and in a relationship with each other. It is discovered that Tony and Nancy went to high school together. Charges are dismissed, and Fritz Boudreau tells Mel that he is not Mel's father, but only handled Mel's adoption because Mel's biological parents were incapacitated. Tina locates the current address of Mel's biological parents, which turns out to be in rural New Mexico. Tony and Paul surprise everyone by deciding to tag along on the trip.
While Mel and Tina become close, Nancy finds herself flirting
Flirting
Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
with Tony, who returns the compliment, causing friction. The trip through rural New Mexico is fraught with more problems. At last the whole crowd descends on the front porch of Mel's true biological parents, Richard and Mary Schlichting. They are asked to stay the night. While Richard and Mary are more than welcoming, Mel's biological brother Lonnie is overly rude and jealous. It is during dinner that Mel discovers that Richard and Mary had to let Mel be adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
because they were in jail for making and distributing LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
in the late 1960s. Not only that, but Richard and Mary continue to manufacture LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, as becomes apparent when Lonnie, in an attempt to dose Mel with acid at dinner, accidentally doses Paul, the ATF agent.
In his drugged state Paul tries to arrest Richard and Mary but Lonnie knocks him out with a frying pan. They attempt to escape and decide to take Mel's car, hiding their supply of acid in the trunk. Mel's adoptive parents arrive but then change their minds and decide to leave, taking the wrong car. When they change their minds again and make a blind U-turn, the two families crash. Mel's adoptive parents are arrested while his biological parents escape to Mexico.
Not realizing what has happened Mel recounts the stories from dinner to Nancy and they agree to name the baby Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
. The next day Paul explains the situation and is able to get Mel's parents released, and they are happy and reassured to hear Mel call them his parents. A montage of their relationships continues over the credits. They all still have their troubles but Mel and Nancy are happy together.
Cast
- Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
as Mel Coplin - Patricia ArquettePatricia ArquettePatricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
as Nancy Coplin - Téa LeoniTéa LeoniElizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
as Tina Kalb - Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
as Pearl Coplin - George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
as Ed Coplin - Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
as Richard Schlichting - Beth OstroskyBeth OstroskyBeth Stern is an American television personality and actress who is the wife of radio personality Howard Stern.-Early life:...
as Jane - Lily TomlinLily TomlinMary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
as Mary Schlichting - Celia WestonCelia WestonCelia Weston is an American actress of stage, film and television, and a character actress. Professionally, she may be best known for her role as Jolene Hunnicutt on Alice.-Life and career:...
as Valerie Swaney - David Patrick KellyDavid Patrick KellyDavid Patrick Kelly is an American actor and musician who has appeared in numerous films, including some major roles.-Career:...
as Fritz Boudreau - Josh BrolinJosh BrolinJosh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
as Tony Kent - Richard JenkinsRichard JenkinsRichard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
as Paul Harmon - Glenn FitzgeraldGlenn FitzgeraldGlenn Fitzgerald is an American actor who has had over 30 roles in movies or television series. He played the character of Sean in The Sixth Sense...
as Lonnie Schlichting - Nadia DajaniNadia DajaniNadia Dajani is an American actress of Irish and Palestinian descent.-Acting career:For two seasons , she starred as Amanda Moyer in the Fox television sitcom, Ned & Stacey. She starred in numerous television pilots...
as Jill
Reception
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rated the film as "Certified Fresh" giving it a 85% based on 41 reviews, with the Top 5 critics giving it 100%.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album was released on Geffen RecordsGeffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
that includes the following tracks
- "Anything But Love" (Dr. John and Angela McCluskey)
- "Somebody Else's Body" (Urge OverkillUrge OverkillUrge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato , and Eddie "King" Roeser . Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction, and became a hit in 1994...
) - "Outasight" (G. Love and The Philly Cartel)
- You're Not a Slut" (Ben Stiller And Celia Weston)
- "Camel Walk" (Southern Culture on the SkidsSouthern Culture on the SkidsSouthern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
) - Lend Me Your Comb" (Carl Perkins)
- "Acid Propaganda" (Lily TomlinLily TomlinMary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
/ Alan Alda / Ben Stiller) - "You Part the Waters" (Cake)
- "Lonnie Cooks Quali" (Glen Fitzgerald)
- "Red Beans N' Reverb" (Southern Culture on the Skids)
- "Flirting with Disaster" (Dr. John and Angela McCluskey)
- "Hypospadia" (Patricia Arquette / Josh Boslin / Tea Leoni / Ben Stiller)
- "Melodie D'Amour (Cha, Cha, Cha D'Amour)" (Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
) - "For Duty and Humanity" (InchInch (band)Inch was a pop-punk band formed in San Diego in 1992. The group was founded by former Sub Society vocalist Michael "Stimy" Steinman and bassist Jeff Reese.-Band history:Inch was formed in 1992 by Michael "Stimy" Steinman, Jeff Reese and Michael Paprocki...
) - "The Flirting Suit" (Stephen Endelman)