Flirting with Disaster is a hysterically funny movie about sex, marriage, and the surprises which make life worth living.
When Mel, his wife, their infant son, and a pretty psychologist from an adoption agency embark on a cross-country trek in search of his biological parents, they undergo a zany series of adventures which changes them all.
Writer and director David O. Russell has a knack for inventing colorful characters whose quest for love and affirmation keeps them yearning for something better than what they've got. The acting by some fresh-faced young stars — Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, and Tea Leoni — is supplemented by the comic antics of veteran performers George Segal, Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, and Lily Tomlin who play two sets of very dysfunctional parents. Equally hilarious are Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin as two totally untypical federal lawmen.
Flirting with Disaster, as the title infers, is about the wild and crazy trips we sometimes take just in order to finally love and cherish what is right before our eyes.