After the birth of his first child, a New Yorker (Ben Stiller) undergoes an identity crisis and feels the need to go on a search for his birth parents, much to the dismay of his adoptive guardians (George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore) and his patient wife (Patricia Arquette). After an inquest with many false leads and additions to their growing caravan, which also includes a sexy social worker (Tea Leoni) and two gay federal agents (Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin), he finally arrives at the home of his birth parents (Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin), two drug dealing hippies living out in the Arizona desert. Flirting with Disaster was David O. Russell's second feature, a farcical comedy with mixed results. It feels ways over-the-top at times and is funny in spurts (Glenn Fitzgerald is a hoot as Stiller's new found brother) and I appreciated the film most for the comic sensibilities of its veteran cast members.
