Flirting With Disaster (1996)

Directed by David O. Russell. Starring Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, George Segal, Mary Tyler Moore, Josh Brolin, Lily Tomlin, Alan Alda, Richard Jenkins, Celia Weston, David Patrick Kelly, Glenn Fitzgerald. [R]

Married to Arquette and a new father to a still-unnamed baby, neurotic Stiller contacts the adoption agency that placed him with a family many years ago so he can try and find his biological parents. When agency counselor Leoni tracks them down, she accompanies the couple on a trip to meet them, a journey with more than a few bumps in the road, none more significant than Stiller finding himself attracted to Leoni while Arquette rekindles a connection with an old schoolmate (Brolin, an ATF agent who’s married to his partner, played by Jenkins). Quirky comedy suffers from inconsistency in both tone and success rate, with lots of amusing and surprising moments (sometimes to the detriment of credibility) but also several misfires and unsatisfying story threads that never resolve or serve its central trio—for such a proudly off-center storyline, it feels too calculated in its eccentricities. Saved from sloppy adequacy by the performers, especially the supporting cast (as Stiller’s “two moms,” Tomlin and Moore both get to go a little wild and are quite funny). Stick around for the credits.

67/100