Review of Flirting with Disaster (1996) by Monique D — 18 Feb 2012

A less than stellar comedy concerning a young couple (Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette) who feel it is important to discover Stiller's true biological parents before they can name their newborn child.

Dumb premise is saved by a screenplay with ferocious comical bite, mostly thanks to tremendous acting that help make the dialogue and conversations likeable enough. The first half is well-executed given what the premise of the film is, however the second half of the film falls flat on its face repeating the same joke over and over again til' its dead.

And, while they are funny, Richard Jenkins and James Brolin as a gay couple who work together as law officers (you read that right) serve no realistic purpose for being in this story whatsoever. It does have some great one-liners ("Hey buddy, you come in here, you lick my wife's armpit.

..") and the cast from top to bottom is fantastic and impressive, but the story begins to feel quirky for the sake of quirky's sake, and that's when it gets a little annoying.