Flirting with Disaster
Miramax Films | Release Date: March 22, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
A buoyant, picaresque farce that hums with goofy energy and mines enough ideas, jokes and setups for three movies of this description. Read full review
100
TimeRichard Schickel
Upon all these folks, writer-director David O. Russell turns a bland, almost anthropological eye. Nothing surprises him and nothing outrages him, except for bed-and-breakfast lodgings, about which, at last, his movie tells the terrible truth. [1 April 1996, p. 72]
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Mr. Russell's wonderfully mad odyssey of a movie, in which a man sets out to find his biological parents and winds up meeting more weirdos than Alice found down the rabbit hole. Read full review
90
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
A comedy that surfs from beginning to end on a wave of high spirits. The tone is young but not juvenile, sexy but not cynical, optimistic but not stupid. [22 April 1996, p.28]
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Flirting With Disaster, like that Energizer Bunny, keeps on going. But in this case, the perpetual motion is a deliciously hysterical rush. Read full review
90
Washington PostHal Hinson
Writer-director David O. Russell's exhilarating follow-up to "Spanking the Monkey," is even wilder, giddier and more unpredictable than that irreverent debut. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Has the sort of headlong confidence the genre requires. Russell finds the strong central line all screwball begins with, the seemingly serious mission or quest, and then throws darts at a map of the United States as he creates his characters. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Not as corrosive as Russell's debut feature, "Spanking the Monkey," it's just as wild, just as strange, and even funnier. Read full review
80
VarietyStaff (Not credited)
Although it eventually throws more balls in the air than it can easily juggle, Flirting with Disaster is, most of the time, a diabolically clever satire that has its way with any number of contemporary shiboleths. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverAndy Klein
Hilarious--a terrific updating of ancient farce conventions for the '90s. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Taking the concept of the dysfunctional family to a degree that might even boggle Leo Tolstoy's mind, Flirting With Disaster is every son or daughter's nightmare… multiplied. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Flirting is a little too weighed down with stage business to soar. But episode for episode, it's one of the ha-ha-funniest movies currently around. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not credited)
Highly unlikely plot complications never once threaten to throw this remarkably amusing film off-track, thanks to the narrative intelligence of writer-director David O. Russell, the only member of the filmmaking bratpack who seems to understand how movies work and why they entertain. Read full review
70
NewsweekJeff Giles
The old pros cavort grandly. Moore even strips down to a black bra and panties, and rolls in bed with her husband (George Segal).
60
The New YorkerTerrence Rafferty
Despite some expert performances --the picture remains as confused as its hero; unlike him, it never does find its identity. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The results are watchable enough--sometimes funny, sometimes over the top--and fairly fresh, though also a bit calculated. Read full review
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