Flirting with Disaster (1996)

Director:

David O. Russell

Writer (WGA):

David O. Russell (written by)

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Have you flirted yet?

Plot:

A young man, his wife, and his incompetent case worker travel across country to find his birth parents.

Plot Keywords:

Adoption | Mistaken Identity | New Mexico | Truck Driver | Face Slap

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

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
Josh Brolin	...	Agent Tony Kent
Celia Weston	...	Valerie Swaney
Glenn Fitzgerald	...	Lonnie Schlichting
Beth Ostrosky	...	Jane
Cynthia Lamontagne	...	Sandra
David Patrick Kelly	...	Fritz Boudreau
John Ford Noonan	...	Mitch
Charlet Oberly	...	B&B Lady
Nadia Dajani	...	Jill
Don Creech	...	Cop #1
Clarke Bittner	...	Cop #2
Tony Kruk	...	Detective
Jonathan Teague Cook	...	Sheriff
Steve Moreno	...	Deputy
Tori Davis	...	Flight Attendant
Shawn Michael Howard	...	Roger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Suzanne Snyder	...	Alternative Wife (unconfirmed)
Kacee DeMasi	...	Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
David O. Russell

Writing credits (WGA)
David O. Russell		(written by)

Produced by
Christopher Goode	....	associate producer
Trea Leventhal	....	co-executive producer (as Trea Hoving)
Kerry Orent	....	co-producer
Dean Silvers	....	producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Stephen Endelman

Cinematography by
Eric Alan Edwards		(as Eric Edwards)

Film Editing by
Christopher Tellefsen

Casting by
Risa Bramon Garcia
Ellen Parks

Production Design by
Kevin Thompson

Art Direction by
Judy Rhee

Set Decoration by
Susan Block
Ford Wheeler

Costume Design by
Ellen Lutter

Makeup Department
Lilly Benyair-Gart	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Lily Gart)
Lisa Collins	....	makeup artist: Arizona
Mary A. D'Angelo	....	makeup artist: New York (as Mary D'Angelo)
Helen M. Gallagher	....	hair stylist: New York (as Helen Gallagher)
Christine M. Guararra	....	hair stylist: Arizona (as Christine Guararra)
Wayne Herndon	....	hair stylist
Lori Hicks	....	makeup artist
Renate Leuschner	....	wig maker: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Renata Leufeher)
Renate Leuschner	....	wig maker: New York (as Renata Leufeher)
Violet Ortiz	....	hair stylist: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Violey Ortiz)
Josephine Rosa	....	assistant makeup artist: New York
Linda Grimes	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Julie Duvic	....	unit production manager: Los Angeles/San Diego
Jonathan Gordon	....	executive in charge of production: Miramax
Victoria McGarry	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott K. Coder	....	second second assistant director: Arizona (as Scott Coder)
Jude Gorjanc	....	second assistant director
Jolyon Handler	....	second assistant director: New York
Kent Johnson	....	second second assistant director: Arizona
Marco Londoner	....	second second assistant director: New York
Jana Ludwigova	....	second second assistant director: Los Angeles/San Diego
Todd Pfeiffer	....	first assistant director
Alan Steinman	....	second assistant director: Los Angeles/San Diego
Sheila Waldron	....	second second assistant director (as Sheila G. Waldron)
David 'Wex' Wechsler	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles/San Diego

Art Department
Joel Barkow	....	assistant property master
Julia Barraclough	....	charge scenic (as Julia J. Barraclough)
Martin Bernstein	....	construction coordinator
Clyde Betts	....	art production assistant: Arizona
Rodney Clark	....	construction grip: New York
Keith Cox	....	construction coordinator: Los Angeles/San Diego
Gregory Criscuolo	....	carpenter
Mark F. Dennett	....	set dresser: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Mark Dennet)
Arthur Dworin	....	scenic: New York
John Farina	....	construction grip: New York
Will Grant	....	set dresser: Los Angeles/San Diego (as William Grant)
Brian Hess	....	set dresser: New York
Tyler Kim	....	prop assistant: New York
Kevin Ladson	....	property master: New York (as Kevin C. Ladson)
Andrew Lassman	....	property master (as Andy Lassman)
John Leavey	....	scenic
Sarah Lindborg	....	art department production assistant
Jann McClary	....	prop assistant: New York
Eric M. Metzger	....	set dresser (as Eric Metzger)
Timothy Metzger	....	leadman: Arizona
Scott Miller	....	propmaker: Los Angeles/San Diego
Keith Mosca	....	leadman: Arizona
David C. Nute	....	construction foreman: Los Angeles/San Diego (as David Nute)
Ralph Perri	....	construction grip: New York
Mike Popovich	....	scenic: Arizona
David E. Robinson	....	scenic: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Dave Robinson)
Steve Roll	....	construction coordinator: Arizona
Jeffrey Rollins	....	set dresser
Karen Seifried	....	charge scenic: Arizona
Gregg Singer	....	set dresser: Arizona
Jim Steere	....	scenic: New York
Larry Steinberg	....	construction grip (as Lawrence Steinberg)
Jill Sternberg	....	scenic
Kimberly A. Street-Lennon	....	assistant property master: Arizona (as Kim Street-Lennon)
Roman Turovsky	....	scenic: New York
Tony Valdes	....	carpenter: Arizona
Alma Villavorta	....	art department production assistant
Rob Walsh	....	construction production assistant (as Robert Walsh)
Kerry Weeks	....	lead person: New York (as Kerry A. Weeks)
David D. Wheeler	....	propmaker

Sound Department
Michael Barry	....	sound re-recording mixer: Sound One
Jim Davees	....	boom operator: New York (as Jim 'Bear' Davees)
Stuart Deutsch	....	boom operator
David Diamond	....	boom operator: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Dave Diamond)
Jennifer L. Dunnington	....	apprentice sound editor (as Jennifer Dunnington)
Stuart Emanuel	....	sound editor
Wendy Hedin	....	sound designer
Bradford L. Hohle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Lowell Jacobs	....	second boom operator: Arizona
Kate Jesse	....	second boom operator: Arizona
George A. Lara	....	foley engineer (as George Lara)
Rob Lynch	....	apprentice sound editor
Yvette Nabel	....	foley editor
Angela Organ	....	assistant sound editor
Rolf Pardula	....	sound mixer
Jeff Pullman	....	sound mixer: New York
Bill Scheinberg	....	boom operator: New York
William Schneiberg	....	boom operator: New York (as Bill Scheiberg)
Jim Stuebe	....	boom operator: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Jim Steube)
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist
John Werner	....	apprentice sound editor
Dan Wesson	....	second boom operator
Mark DeSimone	....	adr engineer: TV version (uncredited)
Dan Edelstein	....	adr editor: TV version (uncredited)
Raymond Karpicki	....	foley editor (uncredited)
James H. Nau	....	adr editor (uncredited)
Michael Shore	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Eric Brown	....	stunt driver
Joyce R. Korbin	....	stunt woman (as Joyce Korbin)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael F. Barrow	....	camera operator (as Michael Barrow)
Matthew Braun	....	camera loader: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Mathew Braun)
Keith Bunting	....	best boy grip
Geb Byers	....	first assistant camera: New York (as Jeb Buyers)
Laura Colella	....	camera trainee: New York
Mark J. Coyne	....	second assistant camera: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Mark Coyne)
Lamont Crawford	....	grip
Thomas M. Dangcil	....	electrician: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Tom Dangcil)
Howard Davidson	....	key grip: New York
James Edmiston	....	second grip: New York (as Jim Edmision)
Thomas Enright	....	electrician: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Tom Enright)
Kevin Erb	....	best boy grip: Los Angeles/San Diego
Kevin 'Rambo' Fitzgerald	....	grip: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Rambo Fitzgerald)
Richard Gavril	....	grip: Arizona
Pedro Hernández	....	best boy grip: Arizona (as Pedro Hernandez)
Mike Hutzger	....	grip: New York
David Knoblock	....	grip: Arizona
Ted J. Kredo	....	best boy electric: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Ted Kredo)
Jim Kwiatkowski	....	key grip: Los Angeles/San Diego
Eric Liebowitz	....	still photographer: New York
Gary Martone	....	key grip
Linda Mazzoni	....	grip: New York
Tony Mazzucchi	....	grip: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Tony Mazzuchi)
Jeff McGrath	....	electrician: Los Angeles/San Diego
Charlie McNamara	....	electrician: Arizona (as Charles McNamara)
William D. Moran	....	grip (as William Moran)
Thomas Nead	....	electrician: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Tom Nead)
Heather Norton	....	second assistant camera
Rocco Palmieri	....	electrician
Daniel Pershing	....	dolly grip: Los Angeles/San Diego
Linda Phillips	....	electrician
Scott H. Ramsey	....	gaffer (as Scott Ramsey)
Nate Ranger	....	assistant camera
Danya Reich	....	camera trainee
John Rodgers	....	gaffer: Los Angeles/San Diego
Randell L. Rowlett	....	electrician: Arizona (as Randell Rowlett)
Richard Rutkowski	....	first assistant camera
Michael A. Savage	....	grip: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Mike Savage)
Jeremy Schroeder	....	second grip: New York
Mark Schwentner	....	best boy electric
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer: Los Angeles/San Diego
Chris Skutch	....	dolly grip
Phil Testa	....	electrician (as Philip Testa)
Maliz Van de Friess	....	second assistant camera: Arizona (as Maliz Van De Fries)
Joe Volpe	....	second assistant camera: New York
Jonathan Weaver	....	second assistant camera: New York
Joshua M. Weiner	....	dolly grip: New York (as Josh Weiner)
Joshua M. Weiner	....	grip (as Joshua Weiner)
Barry Wetcher	....	still photographer
Clifton Dance	....	electrician (uncredited)
Dean Mongan	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Mark Byrne	....	extras casting assistant
Kim Davis-Wagner	....	extras casting (as Kim Davis)
Susan Fried	....	extras casting: New York (as Sue Fried)
Daniel Irvine	....	casting: Arizona
Sunny Seibel	....	extras casting: Arizona

Costume and Wardrobe Department
June Barney	....	assistant wardrobe shopper: Arizona
Kathleen Bartlett	....	wardrobe assistant: New York
Chuck Casey	....	wardrobe assistant: New York (as Charles Casey II)
Anita Ellis	....	wardrobe assistant: New York
Shari Gray	....	costume designer: Los Angeles/San Diego
James Hammer	....	assistant costume designer (as Jim Hammer)
Katrina Jeffries	....	wardrobe supervisor: New York
Laurie Johnson	....	key set costumer: Los Angeles/San Diego
Laurie Johnson	....	wardrobe shopper
Roseann Milano	....	wardrobe supervisor
Jeanne Munson	....	wardrobe assistant: New York
Patricia Sanftner	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Pat Sanftner)

Editorial Department
Jane Pia Abramowitz	....	additional assistant editor
Karen Bermudez	....	post-production assistant
Tod Scott Brody	....	post-production executive
Mark Ginsberg	....	color timer
Gerritt Graham	....	assistant to post-production executive
G. Matt Hepler	....	post-production assistant
Debra Kanter Kohn	....	apprentice editor
George Larkin	....	post-production coordinator (as George W. Larkin)
K. Lorel Manning	....	post-production assistant (as K. Lorrell Manning)
Noëlle Penraat	....	negative cutter
Daniel Pimentel	....	post-production assistant
Arthur Schlenger	....	second assistant editor
Victoria Scoggins	....	post-production assistant
Misako Shimizu	....	first assistant editor
Ian Silverstein	....	second assistant editor
Joe Violante	....	dailies advisor
Chris Gennarelli	....	dailies colorist (uncredited)
Lou Iocca	....	additional editor (uncredited)
May Kuckro	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)
Sara Nicholson	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Lisa Brown	....	music coordinator
Emile Charlap	....	music contractor
Dominic DeRasse	....	musician: trumpet
Gordon Gottlieb	....	musician: percussion (as Gordon Gotlieb)
Bonnie Greenberg	....	music supervisor
Todd Kasow	....	supervising music editor
Dan Lieberstein	....	music editor: Kickstart Films
Richard Locker	....	musician: cello
Jill Meyers	....	music business affairs
Todd Milner	....	assistant music editor
Jeffrey Mironov	....	music arranger: additional material and guitars (as Jeffery Mironov)
John Moses	....	musician: trumpet
James Nichols	....	score recordist (as James P. Nichols)
Robert Papparozzi	....	musician: harmonica
Joe Passaro	....	musician: percussion
Amy Rockwell	....	music assistant
Richard Sortomme	....	musician: synthesizer
Dale Stuckenbruck	....	musician: singing saw
Tom Swift	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Lynn Ashby	....	driver: Arizona
Art Bauer	....	driver: Los Angeles/San Diego
Wes Bloom	....	transportation captain: Arizona
John Burkhart	....	driver: Arizona
Joe Devane	....	driver: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Joseph Devane)
Douglas DuVal	....	driver: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Doug Duval)
Mark Gantt	....	driver: Arizona
Joe Getzwiller	....	driver: Arizona
Scott Hess	....	driver: Arizona
Patrick Knapp	....	driver: Arizona (as Pat Knapp)
Gary Mahr	....	driver: New York
Kenny Mason	....	transportation coordinator: Arizona
Denny McCoy	....	driver: Arizona
Ron Mitchell	....	driver: Arizona
Edward O'Donnell	....	transportation captain (as Eddie O'Donnell)
Walter Rubio	....	driver: Los Angeles/San Diego
Howard A. Small	....	transportation coordinator: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Howard Small)
Frank Weiss	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Joe Abramson	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Ryan Allen	....	office production assistant: New York/Los Angeles/San Diego
Scott Ambrozy	....	set production assistant: New York/Los Angeles/San Diego (as Scott Ambrory)
Tina M. Ameduri	....	craft service: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Tina Ameduri)
Alexis Arnold	....	production secretary: Los Angeles/San Diego
Sherry Azzarella	....	production secretary: Arizona
Gail Barringer	....	assistant auditor
Todd W. Beeton	....	office production assistant: New York (as Todd Beeton)
Jenny Beresford	....	set production assistant
Amy Berkenbile	....	office production assistant: Arizona
Tracey Bing	....	product placement (as Tracey Nicole Bing)
Charmaine Boos	....	welfare worker: Los Angeles/San Diego
Lisa Bowman	....	set production assistant
Sarah Brandston	....	set production assistant
Jeanne Brennan	....	production coordinator
Terrence Burke	....	set production assistant: New York
Kevin Center	....	office production assistant
Evelyn Charbonneau-Wildman	....	craft service: Arizona
Herman Cohen	....	set security
Eddy Collyns	....	location manager
Cindy Craig	....	key set production assistant
John 'JR' Craigmile	....	post-production auditor
Gregory Criscuolo	....	craft service: New York (as Greg Criscuolo)
Shanti Delsarte	....	production consultant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Shanti Delsarte	....	production secretary: New York
Lena Drobot	....	caterer: New York
Lauren Fischer	....	set production assistant: New York
Paul Franklin	....	chef: New York (as Paul Franklin III)
Dave Freed	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego (as David Freed)
Ellen Gannon	....	production secretary
Jodi Gannon	....	assistant auditor
Amanda Gill	....	location manager: Los Angeles/San Diego
Rob Harris	....	unit publicist
Tom Heilig	....	teamster captain: New York (as Tom Helig)
Harold Horn	....	craft service: New York
Sam Hyde	....	set production assistant: Arizona
Jocelyn Jansons	....	assistant location manager: New York
Jonathan Judge	....	set production assistant: New York (as Jon Judge)
Gary Kauffman	....	legal services: Silvers & Kaufmann LLC
Takahide Kawakami	....	set production assistant: New York (as Taka Kawakami)
Michael J. Kinney	....	production assistant
Julien Kneel	....	set production assistant: New York
Lisa Knudson	....	accountant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Kate Kondell	....	assistant to director
Michael Landman	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Shari Lee	....	production coordinator: Arizona
Claudia Lorka	....	assistant to producer
Patrick Mahoney	....	craft service: New York
Tony Mariani	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Patrick Marsh	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Ivan McDonald	....	set production assistant: New York
Mike McNally	....	set medic: Arizona
Donald Milne	....	set production assistant: Arizona
Shalah Mitchell	....	office intern: Arizona
Marinka Modderman	....	set production assistant: New York
Miguel Mojica	....	set production assistant: New York
Margo Myers	....	production auditor
Julie Oppenheimer	....	script supervisor
Neil Orlowski	....	set production assistant: New York (as Neil Orlawsky)
Michael H. Perman	....	assistant production coordinator: Los Angeles/San Diego (as Michael Perman)
Paul Polow	....	set production assistant: New York
Exile Ramirez	....	edit room coordinator
Mario Ramirez	....	location scout: Los Angeles/San Diego
Jason Rice	....	office production assistant
Guy H. Rocourt II	....	set production assistant: New York (as Guy Rocourt)
Christina Rosati	....	assistant to director
Andrew Saxe	....	assistant location manager
Andrew Saxe	....	location manager: New York
Sheryl Schwartz	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Sarah Sciotto	....	assistant coordinator: Arizona
Jodi Shapera	....	first assistant accountant
Terry Sims	....	assistant: Mary Tyler Moore (as Terry W. Sims)
Amanda Slater	....	set production assistant: New York
Jeremy Slutskin	....	set production assistant: New York
R. Vincent Smith	....	craft service (as R. Vince Smith)
John Soran	....	craft service: New York
Karyn Wagner	....	craft service: New York
Lucius Wasserman	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles/San Diego
Christine Welker	....	location assistant
Tom Yeager	....	assistant location manager: Arizona
Michele Ammon	....	stand-in: Patricia Arquette (uncredited)
Brian H. Berkowitz	....	production assistant: re-shoots (uncredited)
Terrence C. Burke	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Paulette D. Clark	....	assistant production coordinator (uncredited)
Ivor Shier	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)

Thanks
Scott Busby	....	thanks
Janet Grillo	....	special thanks
Marlen Hecht	....	special thanks
Cheryl Miller Houser	....	thanks (as Cheryl Miller-Houser)
Jeffrey Kimball	....	thanks
John Lesher	....	special thanks
Meryl Poster	....	thanks
Jordan Roberts	....	special thanks
Seth Rose	....	thanks
Matthew Antonio Grillo Russell	....	thanks
Barbara Russell-Peloquin	....	thanks
Forrest Silvers	....	thanks
Marc Silvers	....	thanks
Sylvia Silvers	....	thanks
Tyler Silvers	....	thanks
Steven Starr	....	thanks
Nancy Tenenbaum	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Miramax Films

Distributors

• Miramax Films (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (Germany)
• Laurenfilm (Spain)
• New Films International
• Nordisk Film (1997) (Finland) (video)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks
• Teatown Communications Group  post-production facilities
• Teatown Communications Group  post-production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality and a comic drug scene

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | USA:R (certificate #34425) | Finland:S | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Dick Van Dyke was offered the role of Richard Schlichting. Originally, Mary Tyler Moore was to play the role of his wife Mary but she eventually switched roles in order to portray Pearl Coplin.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The shots of airliners flying overhead (to symbolize the characters flying across the country) are Boeing 727s. By 1996 when this movie was made, 727's had long been taken out of passenger service.

Quotes:

Nancy:No thanks, I'm not hungry.
Mel:Come on, Nance, you're always hungry.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Why or why not is `Flirting with Disaster' a typical Hollywood movie?

`Flirting with Disaster' is definitely a typical Hollywood movie in many aspects but not in all of them. It fits the form of classical cinema or classical paradigm in that the director, David O. Russell, does not get distracted from telling the story with filmmaking techniques. It is a clear and precise comedy that never leaves the characters in action, and is done so in a way that works unlike many other films of this genre released today. The film is structured narratively, with a clearly defined conflict from the very beginning. Ben Stiller shines in his performance as a neurotic new father who is trying desperately to find his biological parents in order to name his newborn son. At one point in the film the viewer begins to become anxious and wonder if the same problem for the protagonist, Stiller, is going to continue on in the same form as it has in the past half of the movie, but luckily Russell then changes the flow of the film and brings it to a much more comedic finish than the first half.

The photography is shot in full and long shots throughout most of the movie. Russell must have used deep-focus shots when filming because the surrounding background is clear around the characters, using a wide-angle or short lens. The characters are never off of the screen except for a few instances when we see a plane flying or a car driving and then we have voice-overs. The dialogue is always continuous- there is never a break in the script which works well because the screenplay is well written and clever on its insights on the little inconveniences of everyday life. Although all of these events are too unbelievable too happen all at once, they are all real life comedic situations that could happen to anyone. When compiled together with this plot line, we have this film before us.

Although this is a typical movie in the sense that it does not break any barriers or do anything creatively in its techniques in telling the story, the plot and screenplay do enough justice in making the film entertaining for the audience and one of those films you can just sit down, relax, and have fun viewing because it makes sense and fits together. This aspect is not like many Hollywood films released today, with their gaping holes that leave the viewer feeling unfulfilled. Altogether this was a good film, even though it did fit many of the typical Hollywood stereotypes.