Perhaps writer-director David O. Russell ("Spanking the Monkey") was aiming the title of his new comedy "Flirting With Disaster" at more than merely the emotional tightrope walked by his central character. He could just as easily have been referring to the style of comedy he's tackling here.
Frantic farce is difficult at best, and as Russell dives into the genre, he recklessly employs enough eccentric characters for a couple of movies. At least by today's standards.
The result is a mixed bag — some riotous material, and quite a bit of stumbling in the dark. But starved fans of romantic slapstick may want to check out the proceedings here, which benefits from an ensemble cast that includes several familiar faces playing against type.
Ben Stiller is likable and amusing in the befuddled central role, as a conflicted entomologist who was adopted as a child. He has always been cautiously curious about his biological parents, and now that he and his wife (the appealing Patricia Arquette) have a new baby, he's positively obsessed.
Acting spontaneously, Stiller visits an adoption agency, which rather quickly locates his parents for him. And when they agree to meet with him, he determines to hit the road the next day.
To break the news to his unsuspecting wife, Stiller brings home a student psychologist (Tea Leoni, who is quite naturally funny and sexy), then insists that all three — with the baby in tow — leave the next day on the cross-country trek to meet his folks.
This leads to all kinds of mix-ups and complications, including Stiller having to deal with the resentments of his obnoxious adoptive parents (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal), a road trip that leads to a number of dead-ends, Stiller's romantic attraction to the Leoni, a pair of federal agents who wind up tagging along, and ultimately an encounter with a pair of '60s relics, a hippie couple (Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin) with some interesting secrets.
Russell's anarchic comedy comes up with some doozy ideas, and some of the comedy is clever and on the mark. (Where else would the most conservative character be gay?)
But there are also quite a few set-ups and gags that seem forced, as if Russell is simply trying too hard, throwing everything at the wall without much concern about what sticks. And some of the Woody Allen sexual angst-dialogue is more crass than humorous.
In some ways, Russell's entire movie plays like a '60s throwback, a culture-clash comedy that is willing to sacrifices laughs for the sake of being frenetic — performed with wild late-'60s/early-'70s-style abandon.
But maybe he should have studied the classic screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s instead. Somehow, they seem less dated.
"Flirting With Disaster" is rated R for sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, drugs and violence.