Do you remember when Ben Stiller made good movies?  It wasn’t that long ago, was it?  Ok, Tropic Thunder had some really funny moments but that’s the only one you can give me since 2004.  And I don’t even think most people were that excited about his movies in 2004, Starsky & Hutch and Dodge Ball.  Those had some laughs, but pretty average overall.  Before that you have to go all the way to 2001 when he was in The Royal Tenenbaums.  Maybe it was that long ago.   I am looking at his resume on IMDB.com and am coming to the conclusion that he is vastly overrated.  (Side note: Ben Stiller played a character named Fast Eddie Felcher on two episodes of Miami Vice in 1987.  That, I would like to see.)  Overrated or not, he did have a run in the late 90’s where he made some very funny movies.  The funniest of that run was in 1996 with a lesser known movie called Flirting with Disaster.  

Disaster was written and directed by David O. Russell who hasn’t done a ton of movies, but is batting a pretty high average on those that he’s made.  In fact, this is the first two movies on this list that he has helmed.  The cast is absolutely loaded with veteran actors that know exactly what to do with a great script.  This movie is hilarious.

Stiller and Patricia Arquette play a married couple, Mel and Nancy Coplin who just had their first child.  The problem here is that Stiller was adopted, and while very close to his adoptive parents (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal playing neurotic, New York City Jews to perfection) feels like he can’t name his new born son until he meets his real parents.  The adoption agency enlists Tina, played by Tea Leoni to help the young couple coordinate a meeting.  Mel’s real birth mom (we think) is in San Diego and Mel and Nancy head across the country to meet her.  Going with them is Tina who wants to document the event.  This is where everything gets a little crazy.  The agency makes some mistakes that send the Coplin’s and Tina on a wild goose chase across the country in search of Mel’s real parents.  Along the way they meet a bunch of hilarious characters including a couple of gay ATF agents played by Josh Brolin and Richard Jenkins, who end up going with them when they eventually find Mel’s parents.  Sexual tension arises between Mel and Tina and then Nancy and Brolin’s character who decides that he’s bi-sexual.  In the end we find out that Mel was put up for adoption because real parents, Richard and Mary Schlichting played by Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin (both very funny, but Alda just kills here) were arrested for selling LSD in the 60’s.  

This quick synopsis does not do justice to just how funny this movie is.  I have seen it countless times and my stomach hurts from laughing every time.  I know Russell has a couple of movies in the works, and with his resume so far I can’t wait to see them.  I also know that stiller has some movies in the works…  We’ll see.