FLIRTING WITH DISASTER
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Mirimax)
Directed by David O. Russell
Written by David O. Russell
Cast Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni, Mary Tyler
Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Richard
Jenkins, Josh Brolin, Celia Weston
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language and sexual content)
Running Time 90 minutes
Reviewed at The Colony Twin, Raleigh, NC (13APR96)
==
Is forced hilarity hilarious? That's the question to ponder while watching (enduring?) this edgy romantic comedy from SPANKING THE MONKEY director David O. Russell. Nothing is particularly relaxed (or sacred) about this story of a young married man (Ben Stiller) who drags his wife (Patricia Arquette), his baby, and his adoption- agency contact (Tea Leoni) on a cross-country search for his biological parents. The dialogue, the characters, even the camera work itself is frantic. Too frantic. The humor, like everything else about the movie, ends up feeling forced. Sure, the presence of such seasoned supporting players as Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal (and Lily Tomlin and Alan Alda) is nice. As is the film's very frank sense of sexuality. (The subject of fellatio is, ah, a running gag.) Most of it, though, just isn't very funny. FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, *indeed*.
Grade: C
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
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