A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen.
Adopted as a child, new father Mel Colpin decides he cannot name his son until he knows his birth parents, and determines to make a cross-country quest to find them. Accompanied by his wife, Nancy, and an inept yet gorgeous adoption agent, Tina, he departs on an epic road trip that quickly devolves into a farce of mistaken identities, wrong turns, and overzealous and love-struck ATF agents.
Flirting with Disaster (1996) is a comedy film directed by David O. Russell, released on March 22, 1996 with a runtime of 1h 33m. It stars Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni and Mary Tyler Moore. Viewers rate it 6.2 out of 10 across 273 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Flirting with Disaster before you stream it.
Ben Stiller
as Mel Coplin
Patricia Arquette
as Nancy Coplin
Téa Leoni
as Tina Kalb
Mary Tyler Moore
as Pearl Coplin
George Segal
as Ed Coplin
Alan Alda
as Richard Schlichting
Lily Tomlin
as Mary Schlichting
Richard Jenkins
as Paul Harmon
Josh Brolin
as Tony Kent
Celia Weston
as Valerie Swaney
Glenn Fitzgerald
as Lonnie Schlichting
Beth Stern
as Jane
Directed by David O. Russell, written by David O. Russell, produced by Dean Silvers.
Average viewer score of 6.2/10 from 273 ratings.
The last great classic comedy of situations. They don’t make them like this anymore, because talented writers have left Hollywood after it switched from creating art to ideological propaganda bullshit in XXI century. Flirting with Disaster isn't just a funny 90s movie. You are witnessing the end of an era. It stands as the last true classic Comedy of Situations—a brilliant subgenre that has completely vanished from…
Reviewed on July 5, 2026
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Flirting with Disaster (1996) is available to stream on fuboTV, and to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Flirting with Disaster (1996) includes Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal. The film was directed by David O. Russell. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Flirting with Disaster was released on March 22, 1996 and runs for 1h 33m.
Flirting with Disaster (1996) holds an average rating of 6.2 out of 10 from 273 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Flirting with Disaster trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
