"Spanking the Monkey" director David O. Russell's first feature
film was such a strange, witty hit that he was able to attract an outstanding
cast for his sophomore effort. I'm taking Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, Lily
Tomlin, George Segal as the parental crowd and Patricia Arquette, Ben Stiller
and Tea Leoni as the kids. And Russell doesn't fail them. After the birth
of his first child Stiller is driven to find his biological parents to the
dismay of his adoptive parents Moore and Segal. Things are tense between
Stiller and his wife, Arquette to begin with and when the adoption agency
sends along an attractive agent to document the reuniting of parents and
child, well, everyone is "Flirting with Disaster". Sounds like
the makings of a "Young and the Restless" episode, I know, but
it is a truly funny flick. Dialogue and pacing combine to give each situation
every comic opportunity without squeezing too hard. Rated R for sexual content,
"Flirting" is definitely for adults with an off kilter sense of
humor.
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