Flirting With Disaster (1996)

George Segal Film Fest Movie #3 (Ok, I realize George Segal is barely in the next couple of films – I’m just trying to get through my backlog of movie reviews!) 

Synopsis: Hmm… Ben Stiller stumbles from one awkward scene to another with newly-acquired relatives. Oh wait – it’s basically Meet The Parents without Robert De Niro! 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “This sexy all-star comedy was cheered by critics and audiences nationwide! In a quest to find his biological parents, Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) – joined by his wife (Patricia Arquette) and a sexy adoption counselor (Tea Loni) – embarks on a cross-country search for his ‘roots’.” [Whoa…somebody has “sexy” on the brain!]

What Did I Learn?: If some reprobate offers to teach you how to drive a big-rig truck, don't take him up on it.

You Might Like This Movie If: You've always wondered about how an LSD trip might go.

 

Really?: 1) Yeah…I realize Mel has a bit of a thing for Tina, but after that first major fuck-up, I had a bit of a hard time believing he would trust her to do anything. Oh, and why are those two ATF dudes hanging around? 2) Gee, take a drink every time Mel and Nancy (Patricia Arquette) get into a big fight. 

Rating: I wanted to like Flirting With Disaster a bit more than I did. The movie has a great cast, and a few funny moments, but I’ve never been a huge fan of awkward-moments comedy; a number of scenes caused me to cringe rather than laugh, and the constant bickering between Stiller and Arquette gets old pretty quickly. 6/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116324/?ref_=nv_sr_1