Hysterically Twisted
Added 4/19/2009
This movie is hysterical. I loved it. Mary Tyler Moore is fabulous and steals the show. There is so many great characters and I love the way the plot just twists and turns and takes you on one funny ride.
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Disastrously Funny!
Added 4/10/2009
All the characters play their roles with perfect comic genius, and this film pulls off a trick that few comedies can: you actually care about the characters as you would in a drama. Virtually every scene is funny and there are plenty of surprises, keeping you chuckling and on your toes at the same time.
To be honest, since the movie stars Ben Stiller, I expected juvenile humor (you know, I'm thinking about gooey hair gel as in Something About Mary and heads exploding off as in Tropic Thunder. And then there's Starsky and Hutch). But now I see that when Ben gets a great script, like this one, he's very good. Everyone in this great cast works together as an ensemble; no one character steals the show, though they all shine in their own way. This is an example of the sum of the parts being greater - and funnier - than the whole.
Some of the themes and scenes touch on sex and sexuality, but I think it's okay to watch with teenage kids, if you have them. It doesn't promote or make light of risky or irresponsible behavior.
The DVD contains deleted scenes - there are three of them - and for once I agree with the editors that they should have been cut.
If it seems like I'm not saying much about the plot, that's because I don't want to spoil any of the laughs or surprises. You already know that it's about an adopted man who wants to meet his biological parents. I won't do you any favors by telling you more, but do yourself a favor and watch this hilarious movie!
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Little known gem
Added 1/6/2009
I LOVE this movie. Have since the first time I saw it, and it remains in my top 10. Hilarious situations, great acting; there are lines we still quote to this day! The two sets of parents are comic geniuses -- Mary Tyler Moore in particular. Ben Stiller looks so young and ungroomed, but is quite strong in his usual self-depreciating way. The series of situations the characters go through make this a classic farce, not to mention a road show, but does not feel predictable at all. Take a chance, you'll love it!
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Gets funnier as it goes along
Added 11/20/2008
Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller), the adopted son of two neurotic New Yorkers (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal) feels that he can't name his new born baby until he finds his roots. This leads to him taking off on a cross-country road trip with his wife (Patricia Arquette), his baby and a woman from his adoption agency (Tea Leoni), which, as the title suggests, leads them from one comical disaster to another.
I have now seen all of David O. Russell's films, and of his four films (the other three being "Spanking the Monkey", "Three Kings" and "I Heart Huckabees"), "Flirting with Disaster" is the one that I had the hardest time making it through. It took me two attempts to make it to the end of this film, and the only reason why I kept going the second time was because I'm a completist and wanted to be able to say that I'd seen all of Russell's films. Needless to say, this film is far from perfect. Many of the characters are abrasive and in-your-face and take a while to get used to, and the plot of this film is the weakest of all of Russell's. Essentially this is just a road film and a large portion of the film comprises Ben Stiller and his entourage travelling from one place to the next, with a comic set piece at each destination. Furthermore, a lot of the jokes in the first half hour I found to be either crude or obvious. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I stuck with this film because, at around the forty minute mark, suddenly this film became really good. By that point I had grown accustomed to the characters, the set-up was complete, and the jokes became really funny. The final half hour of this film, when Stiller finally meets his biological parents (Lily Tomlin and Alan Alda), is absolutely hilarious and made me understand why Russell fans think this is such a great film. I think Ben Stiller is a very funny and often underrated actor, but it is Tomlin, Alda, Segal and Moore who steal the show here. Each is perfectly cast and plays his or her role to perfection.
I am now glad that I decided to buy this film on DVD, rather than rent it. Now that I know what awaits me at the end of this film, I would happily watch it again. I don't think it's as good as "Spanking the Monkey" or "Three Kings", but it's definitely a lot easier to watch that "Spanking the Monkey" (a film about a teenager who falls in love with his mother) and far less "out there" than "I Heart Huckabees", so probably a very good start for someone interested in learning more about the films of David O. Russell.
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One of my absolute favorites!
Added 7/26/2008
Quirky, smart, unpredictable. What a blast to watch, over and over again! If you haven't seen this movie, you absolutely have to. One of the most entertaining movies I've ever seen.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Very Good Detective Movie
Added 10/9/2009
Saw this a while back and it is a movie to watch again. Let me list the strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: Good acting especially with the leads: Bill Pullman and Kim Dickens who have a great chemistry. Writing and Story: A well written yarn obviously with nods to other stories. What I love is that it is an intelligent story with some realism and where the characters use their minds and hearts. There is no chase scene. There is no action. But there is suspense because of the story. That is what makes this movie stand out -- that Jake Kashdan, could make a really intriguing movie without tricks. Zero actually solves the whodunnit very early on and yet the movie continues on intriguing because of who actually did it and why that person is doing it.
Weaknesses: What keeps me from giving this movie a 5 star rating is that there are some inconsistencies to it. It almost looks like the movie started as more of a crazy comedy and then became more reigned in as a more serious effort. Once the movie gets going, the over the top comedy is toned down to smart humor and just smart writing. Some of the directing is way overdone such as a restaurant scene with Stiller and O'Neal where the director (maybe for a technical reason) does not feel comfortable showing the actors and pans in from a low under the table view which always annoys me to no end. Stiller did a good job but ultimately his character is whiny beyond what he has a right to be. The stuff with Stiller and his girlfriend is more a detracting plot device than anything else. I understand why it was important for the main character to lose his "Dr. Watson" but it was not executed real well.
Great scenes: The fire alarm scene. Stiller in the park (with the rental kid)with O'Neal. Stiller & O'Neal outside the motel. The office search scene. The planetarium scene. The gun shooting scene. The ice cream and bed scene. The airport with Dickens scene. The hotel mattress scene. The blow up with Stiller and Pullman scene in the hotel scene.
Overall a real entertaining but flawed movie that is worthwhile owning as it stands up to multiple viewings. Enjoy!
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Zero Effect
Added 1/13/2009
Daryl Zero is one of the most peculiar private investigators you will ever meet. His quirks make you more fond of him for in fact they show his humanity. Some may think of him like a modern Sherlock Holmes. Afterall both are brilliant and passionate about their work. Holmes had a case involving a spy once that he fell for and her demise hurt him deeply. Although this case is not about spies, it is a complicated case involving missing keys, an old tape, a lock box, blackmail, and a murder scene that takes time to unravel. Zero is assisted by Steve Arlo, a lawyer that is capable at keeping Daryls identity hidden, being the face the clients see, and good at some background casework as well. Once we see all the pieces of the puzzle we are happy to have been let in on the case and the outcome. It may not be clear as to the fate of the woman Zero falls in love with, but we have an idea there is a chance he will meet her again. As for Zero's case name, brevity is something he needs to become familiar with if he plans to sell it to a publisher. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The cast really do a superb job in their roles and the story was interesting and kept me drawn to the movie. Anyone in your family that enjoys good mysteries probably will like it. Good quality DVD with plenty of replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "Bloodwork".
CA Luster
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Very clever...but not involving
Added 11/29/2008
The ideas here are very clever. But this turns out to be more of a "tell the audience what's going on" movie than show them. People talk about what they're going to do, what they've done, what they're doing. There's a lot of talk and little action. For some kinds of movies, that's fine. But for this kind of movie it just doesn't seem to quite work. Of course you can consider this to be a very offbeat detective story, which is what it is, true. But the characters are just not involving enough to counterbalance the offbeat quality of the movie.
We don't really get a fully humanized portrait of Daryl Zero, the title character. As for his assistant, Steve Arlo, we know he's getting tired of working with Zero, but that seems to be the main trait that comes across characterizing him, which doesn't do much to flesh him out either. As for the "bad guy", Ryan O'Neal, he's bland. Zero's love interest, played by Kim Dickens, is the most fully realized character in the movie but when you bounce that characterization against someone who we don't have a fully developed character for, it just doesn't feel like there's a legit reason for the two of them to hook up.
I gave this three stars because the ideas are sharp. I wish I could say it was a movie that pulled me in, but it really left me pretty cold.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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