Flirting with Disaster

"A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen."

1996 1h 33m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 276

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Adopted as a child, new father Mel Colpin decides he cannot name his son until he knows his birth parents, and determines to make a cross-country quest to find them. Accompanied by his wife, Nancy, and an inept yet gorgeous adoption agent, Tina, he departs on an epic road trip that quickly devolves into a farce of mistaken identities, wrong turns, and overzealous and love-struck ATF agents.

“A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen.”

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Cast

Ben Stiller
Mel Coplin
Patricia Arquette
Nancy Coplin
Téa Leoni
Tina Kalb
Mary Tyler Moore
Pearl Coplin
George Segal
Ed Coplin
Alan Alda
Richard Schlichting
Lily Tomlin
Mary Schlichting
Richard Jenkins
Paul Harmon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David O. Russell
Writers: David O. Russell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David O. Russell, shot by Eric Alan Edwards. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stephen Endelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette and Téa Leoni carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0116324 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David O. Russell directs. Eric Alan Edwards behind the camera. Stephen Endelman scores. Christopher Tellefsen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by David O. Russell, shot by Eric Alan Edwards. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Stephen Endelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Christopher Tellefsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette and Téa Leoni carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen.".
7IMDB entry: tt0116324 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Alan Edwards
Original score: Stephen Endelman
Editing: Christopher Tellefsen
Production design: Kevin Thompson
Costume design: Ellen Lutter
Makeup / hair: Lori Hicks
Sound: Michael Barry
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $14,702,438
Return: 210% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Flirting with Disaster (1996)

Also by

David O. Russell

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Community reviews

What people are saying

AlfaVitaY2K2026-07-05
★ 10/10
The last great classic comedy of situations. They don’t make them like this anymore, because talented writers have left Hollywood after it switched from creating art to ideological propaganda bullshit in XXI century. Flirting with Disaster isn't just a funny 90s movie. You are witnessing the end of an era. It stands as the last true classic Comedy of Situations—a brilliant subgenre that has completely vanished from modern Hollywood. Unlike a standard sitcom or a joke-heavy spoof, a classic comedy of situations relies on a domino effect of escalating plot complications. This brilliant awkwardness works for fans of uncomfortable comedy, but is harder for a general audience to connect, who prefer the simplicity of There's Something About Mary (1998).

Production companies