Review of Flirting with Disaster (1996) by Miles H — 13 Feb 2008
This has got to be one of the best screwball comedies since "Some Like It Hot", and it's certainly David O. Russell's best film. Viewers will try to compare Ben Stiller's peformance to that of "Meet the Parents", but it's far better here, nuanced, painful, and without Ben Stillerisms we've come to expect post-"Heavyweights".
But he's not the only performer who drives this trip home to absurd excellence. Every cast member is an integral part of the whole thing, but special nods should go to Lily Tomlin, Mary Tyler Moore, and Alan Alda.
The insanity is on a high level, but the movie never turns overly slapstick. It's shot with a sort of awkward documentary realism and as tensions explode, so do laughs. It's tragic in its satire of virtually all Americans, but tragically hysterical.
The last fifteen minutes are a gut-buster. It's so relentlessly funny you literally could die laughing.
This review of Flirting with Disaster (1996) was written by Miles H on 13 Feb 2008.
Flirting with Disaster has generally received positive reviews.
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