Flirting With Disaster (Collector's Edition)

Amazon.com

Sometimes a filmmaker's second movie gets labeled as a sophomore slump. David O. Russell (Spanking the Monkey) shreds that fate with Flirting with Disaster, an outrageous, free-spirited comedy about private people forced into public situations. Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) finds the opportunity he's been waiting a lifetime for: an adoption agency rep (Téa Leoni) has located his birth parents and the agency will fly him to California if they can record the reunion. With wife Nancy (Patricia Arquette) and new son in tow, the neurotic Mel is compelled to discover his origins, despite the protests of his neurotic adoptive parents (a wonderful Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal). To give away the plot any more would be a crime, but as the title states, Mel is on a collision course of Oedipal proportions. Russell, who made incest an intriguing black-comedy topic in Spanking, is very liberal with sex and permits dangerous situations. His characters mix it up at a moment's notice. The two women along for the ride are not just bit players: Leoni (Deep Impact) keeps her high-energy comic routine flying, while the grounded Arquette keeps the baby in arm, despite the mad wanderings of her husband. Stiller is a perfect comic foil. --Doug Thomas

Description

Written and directed by David O. Russell (THREE KINGS, SPANKING THE MONKEY), this hysterically original comedy was cheered by critics and audiences nationwide. In a quest to find his biological parents, Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller, DUPLEX, MEET THE PARENTS) -- joined by his wife (Patricia Arquette, HUMAN NATURE, HOLES), and a sexy adoption counselor (Téa Leoni, PEOPLE I KNOW, HOLLYWOOD ENDING ) -- embarks on a cross country search for his "roots." Yet as he careens from one outrageous situation to another, Mel finds himself tempted by the seductive counselor -- even as his wife starts a flirtation of her own! By the time they meet up with his free-spirited birth parents, the whole situation is spinning hysterically out of control! Also starring Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, and Lily Tomlin, this hilarious hit is sure to entertain everyone!

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding cast, lousy script.......2007-07-23

I had never heard of this movie, but greatly admired the line-up.
Unfortunately, the script is a series of left turns and sidetracks,
and the thin storyline that is marginally focused is ludicrous to the
point of being annoying. Amazingly, very few funny things happen in this movie, which is a shame. Ends abruptly and cluelessly as well.

this is not a funny movie.......2007-03-27

these people are insane; there's not a single laugh in this whole movie. it's even less funny than i heart huckabees, and that's saying something.

god knows how this guy ever made three kings. honestly, it's just unbelievable.

Sea of Strange.......2005-09-02

"Flirting With Disaster" is a wild romp directed by David O. Russell who burst onto the scene with "Spanking the Monkey" and has since directed "Three Kings" with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg & Ice Cube and "I Heart Huckabees." He does a good job keeping us off balance and having each new scene and character provide something fresh.

Ben Stiller has developed into one of the United States' true comic stars. Son of Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara, his timing is edgy and his ability to portray confused discomfort in awkward situations is classic. With better known films like "There's Something About Mary," "Meet the Parents," "Meet the Fockers," "Dodgeball," "The Royal Tannenbaums" & "Starsky & Hutch," he's developed a large body of excellent work. As Mel Coplin, he's a quiet family man who has trouble making decisions, like naming their baby who was born months ago. As an adoptee, he starts out on a search to find his birth parents.

Patricia Arquette plays his wife Nancy. She recently was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress in a drama for the NBC series "Medium" (a show that I watch every episode!). She's previously acted in "Holes," "Beyond Rangoon" & "Little Nicky." As Nancy, she seems to be the anchor for the movie, the lone island of sanity in a sea of strange.

As the Coplins, Mel's adoptive parents, George Segal plays the father. From classic films "The Owl & the Pussycat" & "A Touch of Class," his lone Oscar nomination was in 1966 as supporting actor for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" with Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor. His comic sense is in full flare as he pushes and pulls with his wife in an ongoing struggle. Mary Tyler Moore plays his wife, self-obsessed, chronically uptight & full of complaint. Tyler's lone Oscar nomination came as best actress in the Robert Redford-directed 1980 film "Ordinary People." The buzz from this film was that she appeared in a provocative black bra that she does indeed wear well! :)

Mel Coplin is assisted in trying to find his birth parents by a psychology student Tina played by Tea Leoni. She'll soon be seen in "Fun With Dick & Jane" with Jim Carrey & Angie Harmon. Other films where I've enjoyed her performances are the serious disaster movie "Deep Impact" and the funny "Spanglish." Here her character is edgy and neurotic, a divorcee attracted to Mel, trudging to the bathroom in provocative black underwear. She has an uncanny ability to screw things up & continually throw monkey wrenches into what we think SHOULD have been easier.

Midway into the picture after Mel thinks he's met his father, a low-brow truck driver, and takes a driving lesson only to flatten a post office & discover his real parents are elsewhere, we run into two agents from the FBI & Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms. Josh Brolin, son of actor James Brolin, plays Tony who knew Nancy Coplin from high school. As an actor, Brolin has appeared in Woody Allen's "Melinda & Melinda," "Bed of Roses," & has "Into the Blue" out this year. His partner we discover is also his gay husband Paul played by Richard Jenkins. Jenkins will star with Leoni & Carrey in "Fun With Dick & Jane" and is best known for the HBO series "Six Feet Under." He was nominated as best supporting actor by the Independent Spirit Awards for this film. Both characters are a mix of the orthodox and unexpected. Brolin has a scene-stealer where he licks Nancy's armpit as her husband walks in. Jenkins has a scene-stealer as he's been laced with an overdose of LSD and flits around the countryside in his tighty-whities.

The Coplins eventually find their birth parents who are counter culturals making their living by selling LSD-laced decals of Ronald Reagan. One of the funnies moments is when Mary Tyler Moore misunderstands their last name "Schlicting" and calls them the "Sh*t Kings." Alan Alda, known for the long-running "MASH" TV series as well as films like "The Object of My Affection" with Jennifer Aniston & Paul Rudd and his recent Best Supporting Actor nomination for "The Aviator," plays Richard Schlicting, an old hippy who followed the Grateful Dead. His wife Mary Schlicting is played by Lily Tomlin to great affect. She's the perfect counter-cultural earth mother. Tomlin, whose lone Oscar nomination was for her supporting role in the 1975 film "Nashville" and was a delightful Golden Globe nominee for one of my favorite films, "All of Me" in 1984, was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the Independent Spirit Awards for this film. Both provide wonderful moments and keep the comedy pace bubbling. Their misfit punk son Lonnie Schlicting is played to great effect by Glenn Fitzgerald who also appeared with Ryan Gosling in the white supremacist film "The Believer" and in "The Sixth Sense." His maladjusted neurosis suits the film's wild comedy perfectly.

This is a film that keeps moving with overlapping dialogue & nonstop breakneck pacing. While the characters can be so strange that they border on the irritating, all in all it's a good piece of comic film worth checking out performed by an all-star cast. Enjoy!

good clean fun!.......2005-05-02

Really deserves 3.5 stars but I'll give the extra 1/2 star due to Tea Leoni's fetchingness.

Well all in all this is nowhere as good as David Russel's other films "Three Kings" or "I Heart Huckabees" but not bad either.

You certainly won't be bored, or confused---the plot is simple but played at hyperspeed, it's basically a comedy of the absurd with a minimum of Message/subtext, just a lot of slapstick as well as comic irony. Very easy on the brain...

However there is no laugh track so thicker viewers might be scratching their heads at some of the non-slapstick humor.

Probably the whole film can be summed up in the final scene, when two straightlaced evangelical types explain their opposition to gay marriage leading to gays adopting children with, "Imagine all the neurosis those poor children would have to live with"---when in fact what we've been watching is 2 hours of 100% HETEROSEXUAL traditional-family neurosis!!! : )

PERFECTLY PLAYED.......2005-02-23

If you appreciate sitcoms like "Strangers With Candy" you will love this
outrageous comedy. Right-wing Christians would condamn it!

Average customer rating:

completely worth watching, but not great.
It must be ...
Superb coming-of-age film
Reviews do not do justice
I love Flirting

Flirting
Starring: Noah Taylor , Thandie Newton , Nicole Kidman , Bartholomew Rose , and Felix Nobis
Director: John Duigan
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B000068V9U
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Amazon.com essential video

The second part of a projected trilogy by Australian director John Duigan (the preceding film was The Year My Voice Broke), Flirting is a wonderful tale of misfit adolescents who find their independence through a forbidden, interracial relationship. Noah Taylor returns to Duigan's ongoing story as Danny, a gangly stutterer with a wry wit, few friends, and a big crush on Thandiwe (Thandie Newton), a Ugandan student whose father is in some political danger back home. Danny goes to a boys academy and Thandiwe boards at a girls school nearby. The two meet secretly and deepen their doomed affair, exploring adulthood for the first time on their own terms. Duigan is a director who can occasionally be seduced by the surface of things, but Flirting is richly layered in tones both light and ominous, youthful performances that easily alternate between childhood buoyancy and grown-up passion, and a hard-won wisdom about the mysteries of loss. An added bonus is a terrific supporting performance by Nicole Kidman. --Tom Keogh

Description

Two star-crossed misfits risk everything to be together in this sexy and amusing coming-of-age film. Starring Noah Taylor (Vanilla Sky), Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible 2), and Academy Award® nominee* Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge), Flirting is a "brilliant"(The Washington Post) story about first love that's "miles ahead of the average teenage film" (Variety)! With his slight stature, obstinate stutter and love for existentialism, Danny (Taylor) doesn't quite fit in at his rugby-dominated boys' school. But then he falls for radiant, intellectual Thandiwe (Newton)an African student ostracized by the icy clique leader (Kidman) of a nearby girls' school. Despite meddling classmates, imperious teachers and a lake separating their schools, Danny and Thandiwe's romance blossoms...until a crisis threatens to take Thandiwe away forever. *2001: Actress, Moulin Rouge

Customer Reviews:

completely worth watching, but not great........2007-05-21

I really liked this movie, but it was.....there was just something missing. Thandie Newton was great and I like her acting style. Nicole Kidman was really awesome.

It must be ..........2007-02-28

I'm not sure why many reviewers are calling this a coming of age film. They are already very much of age, perhaps even into mid-life before reaching university. Although hers much more than his, their maturity shows in their adult mannerisms and how they don't get defensive in dealing with others. Danny is even aware of his woundedness when he declares, in reference to being scapegoated and how this helps others to feel better about themselves, "No one realized what a great community service I was playing by being the school deck." There's also a moving scene between the fathers after the school play when, in a very empathic way, one says to the other, "I'm not surprised (you don't talk about it). It must be very hard for anyone to understand how tough it was."
Movie gold from Down Under. A real find.

Superb coming-of-age film.......2006-03-06

Despite the cover art on the DVD case, this excellent film doesn't star Nicole Kidman, although she does give a fine supporting performance -- no, the story belongs to Noah Taylor & Thandie Newton, as the two misfits at two boarding schools in the mid-1960s. And it's a lovely, very funny, poignant story of two similar souls finding one another, and experiencing the joys of first love together. Unlike too many American "teen films," it approaches sex with wonder, bemusement, a touch of uncertainty & and an equal touch of bliss. Loneliness is the undercurrent here, avoided by most of the students who have learned to fit in, but clearly affecting the more sensitive among them. And here's where Nicole Kidman's performance is so good: as an icy upperclass student, she reveals her own insecurities & very human longings in a touching scene of empathy with Thandie Newton, late in the film. In short, a tender & touching love story with two very real teenagers -- highly recommended!

Reviews do not do justice.......2005-01-12

I rated this movie 5 stars, but like Alp d'Huez in the Tour de France, this is "beyond category". This feels and sounds like real life. Don't think cinema ever gets any closer to matching a really good book than this movie manages. I don't know if any of this is autobiographical, but it sure feels like it. Actors only give performances this incredible when the script they are working with is extra special, and this script qualifies on all levels. Can't say enough about the performances of the leads, Noah Taylor and Thandie Newton, the movie hinges on the emotional connection they make and it all works like magic. This is a DVD to own, not rent. You will want to see this over and over again, just like a great book.

I love Flirting.......2004-07-20

I love this movie. It's a charming, delightful and wonderful little known gem. Thandie Newton is beautiful, Noah Taylor is endearing. A great script. One of the most romantic little films I've ever seen. Lets not forget Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts are also in this film.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding cast, lousy script
this is not a funny movie
Sea of Strange
good clean fun!
PERFECTLY PLAYED

Flirting With Disaster
Starring: Ben Stiller , Patricia Arquette , Téa Leoni , Mary Tyler Moore , and Alan Alda
Director: David O. Russell
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000IQC7
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding cast, lousy script.......2007-07-23

this is not a funny movie.......2007-03-27

Sea of Strange.......2005-09-02

good clean fun!.......2005-05-02

PERFECTLY PLAYED.......2005-02-23

If you appreciate sitcoms like "Strangers With Candy" you will love this
outrageous comedy. Right-wing Christians would condamn it!

Average customer rating:

Tough Gay Love

Flirting With Anthony
Starring: Mink Stole , Judy Tenuta , Ryan Allen , Lowe Taylor , and Daniel Cartier
Director: Christian Calson
Manufacturer: Tla
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000HIVIX8
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Product Description

Kenneth Anger meets Marquis de Sade in this unsettling fusion of ultraviolence and rough gay love. Thuggishly handsome tattoo-laden ex-con Anthony (Daniel Cartier) must face his demons about the life he wants and the one he leads in this, Christian (Shiner) Calson's sophomore feature. After a death in the family, the bisexual Anthony and his slutty girlfriend of convenience (Lowe Taylor) embark on bizarre road trip filled with multiple sex partners, an eclectic psychic (Mink Stole), and an amusingly submissive younger brother. While en route, Anthony's sadistic past catches up with him when he discovers an ex-gangbanger is stalking him across the country. A hallucinogenic descent into the sexually graphic world of S/M and demented love, Flirting with Anthony is a fearless challenge to conventional queer cinema.

Customer Reviews:

Tough Gay Love.......2007-03-30

"Flirting with Anthony"

Tough Gay Love

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

"Flirting with Anthony" (TLA Releasing) is an amazing look at gay love in a way we do not usually look at it. It is not for the weak of heart as this is a way to love that we are not usually accustomed to.
Anthony is a young gang member who is at odds with other members of the gang. When the movie opens Anthony (Daniel Cartier) is strapped to a table waiting for Bruno to come and torture and possibly kill him. Suddenly Jack (Linus), a friend arrives who not only frees Anthony but also deals with Bruno on his own terms. As the two men exchange deep stares and review in their minds what had just transpired, they agree never to see each other ever again.
Anthony decides that it is time to change his life and begins living in suburbia with Donna (Lowe Taylor) his girlfriend and Leroy, her younger brother. Leroy is gay, independent and infatuated with older leather men. Anthony and Donna try to give Leroy a proper adolescence in terms of how modern America raises youth.
Suddenly, Donna receives word that her father has died and she and Anthony take off on a road trip to the funeral. As they travel they meet a cast of characters that can only be described as bizarre and strange. Among those they meet are several prostitutes, a no guts pervert, two drag queens (Boofont Sisters) who are stranded on the road, a physic (Mink Stole), and an evangelist who is on the verge of losing his mind. They are also being followed by a man who looks a great deal like Jack, Of course they do not know if it is really Jack or not and if it is they wonder if it is a coincidence that he is following them or if he is on a "hit". Eventually the two men come face to face in a bathroom at a gas station and what happens is both chilling and exciting. Anthony becomes haunted by his past when he suspects that he is being followed and he question whether jack is there for romance or retribution.
The movie is like being on a roller coaster which ends in the most surprising of ways. This is "queer cinema" to the definition of the term and it pushes all limits. As the film meanders so does the mind of the viewer and some of the violence is gratuitous. This movie is not an easy one to sit through. Encompassing several film genres, it is extremely hard to categorize "Flirting with Anthony". Director Christian Calson has fashioned a movie that defies description and is difficult to watch and even more difficult to understand but let me emphasize that neither fact means that this is not a good movie. Upon first watching I was shocked but as I watched it again and again I saw so much in it that it left me stunned. It is an experimental film in terms of both form and structure. The genre shits as the life of man shifts.
Looking at the character of Anthony, we find it is as hard to categorize him as it is to categorize the film. We do not know whether he is a gay man living I the closet or a straight guy who is totally confused. But classifying him would really not help to understand his role in the movie.
The colors of the movie set the three different genres. The beginning is red and very grainy; the middle is pastel and the ending s blue. The movie starts as horror/porn which dissolves into a road trip film and finally finishes up as a romantic comedy in which the characters are on a mission to find love.

[...]They are archetypes who are filled with emotions and their portrayals are infinite and they live and breathe on screen. Because we may not be able to identify with them does not mean that they are not real.
The question we are left with at the end of the film is what happens to our two main characters. We may never know and the audience can come to its own conclusion. The movie has no rules and that is its major asset.
Watching "Flirting with Anthony" is a real experience and it is impossible to relay the impact that it had on me. I am sure that many will not like it or see its value but Personally, I am very glad that someone went out on a limb to make the film regardless of what might happen after it is screened. "Flirting with Anthony" will be available on DVD on May 29 from TLA Releasing as well as Amazon.com.

ABC News Nightline The Growing Epidemic of Gambling Addiction in Women/Anatomy of a Twinkie

Average customer rating:

ABC News Nightline The Growing Epidemic of Gambling Addiction in Women/Anatomy of a Twinkie

Manufacturer: ABC News
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000V78SG0
Release Date: 2007-08-16

amazon.com

Two decades ago, only a handful of women sought treatment for gambling addiction. Now the number has shot up into the millions. And not just in Las Vegas. In Oregon, casinos outside American Indian reservations are illegal. But Oregon's lottery operates video poker machines throughout the state, and they're featured prominently in a chain of popular delicatessens, where the setting might be brighter and less smoky than the stereotypical casino, but the stakes can be just as high. ABC's Jessica Yellin has the story of one woman who wagered it all, and lost it all.

The incredible, edible Twinkie. What seems like a simple bit of yellow cake and vanilla filling is in fact the end product of a very complicated process. Though the secret of the Twinkie recipe is very closely guarded, a food writer who is a bit obsessed with the famous confection broke it down into 39 ingredients -- yes, 39. ABC's John Berman goes inside the Twinkie.

Ever see someone cute pull up in the convertible next to you? The light changes, the person speeds off, and you never see each other again. Well, a new Web site works to ensure that that first fleeting meeting won't be your last.

Description

Flirting With Disaster - DVD- Written and directed by David O. Russell (THREE KINGS, SPANKING THE MONKEY), this hysterically original comedy was cheered by critics and audiences nationwide. In a quest to find his biological parents, Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller, DUPLEX, MEET THE PARENTS) -- joined by his wife (Patricia Arquette, HUMAN NATURE, HOLES), and a sexy adoption counselor (Téa Leoni, PEOPLE I KNOW, HOLLYWOOD ENDING ) -- embarks on a cross country search for his "roots." Yet as he careens from one outrageous situation to another, Mel finds himself tempted by the seductive counselor -- even as his wife starts a flirtation of her own! By the time they meet up with his free-spirited birth parents, the whole situation is spinning hysterically out of control! Also starring Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda, and Lily Tomlin, this hilarious hit is sure to entertain everyone! Playing By Heart - DVD- A sexy, romantic comedy about modern couples coming together in funny and unexpected ways, PLAYING BY HEART features an amazing cast of hot stars! Paul (Sean Connery -- FINDING FORRESTER) and Hannah (Gena Rowlands -- THE MIGHTY) discover that even after 40 years of marriage, they can still learn some very surprising things about each other! Meredith (Gillian Anderson -- THE X-FILES) is a serious theatre director who isn't looking for a relationship ... but has one looking for her in the person of the funny, persistent Trent (Jon Stewart -- JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK)! Then there's Joan (Angelina Jolie -- TOMB RAIDER) and Keenan (Ryan Phillippe -- GOSFORD PARK), young people searching for love in an L.A. club scene where the rules of dating seem to change every night! A witty, charming motion picture that critics loved -- you, too, will fall for this seductive treat!

Charlie Rose with Joseph Rotblat; David O. Russell; Jay McInerny; Noah Adams (May 10, 1996)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Joseph Rotblat; David O. Russell; Jay McInerny; Noah Adams (May 10, 1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

First, Physicist Joseph Rotblat was the only scientist to leave the Manhattan Project before the A-bomb was tested. Ten years later, he signed the historic Russell-Einstein Manifesto. It called for the end to all nuclear weapons and was the beginning of Rotblat's fifty year fight for total nuclear disarmament. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 and tonight he talks to Charlie about his cause. Then, filmmaker David O. Russell discusses his new film, Flirting With Disaster. It is about a young father's search for his biological parents, which sends him on a cross-country trek. Also, author Jay McInerny's 1984 debut, Bright Lights, Big City chronicled the excess of the 1980s and made him an overnight success. More than a decade later, he talks to Charlie about the dawn of a new century and his latest book, The Last of the Savages. Finally, Noah Adams, host of National Public Radio's All Things Considered, talks about his experience learning the piano at age 51 and the book it led to, Piano Lessons: Music, Love and True Adventures.

Average customer rating:

Slightly above average Stephen Chow movie
Flirting with disaster

Flirting Scholar
Starring: Kit Ying Lam , Tiet Wo Chu , Jessica Hester Hsuan , Li Gong , and Mimi Zhu
Director: Lik-Chi Lee
Manufacturer: Mei Ah
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008ZZ9A
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Customer Reviews:

Slightly above average Stephen Chow movie.......2007-06-30

After seeing most of Stephen Chow's movies, they can become pretty repetitious. Sort of like King of Beggars, Chow starts out rich, but then becomes poor. This time he does it on purpose. He is a famous poet and painter who wants to get a certain girl to like him. The girl is played by Gong Li, and she is only a maid, but Stephen Chow must have her. Chow has many wives already, and this is where the movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Gong Li is just like the wives that Chow had before. There are too many times where she shows herself to be shallow, yet Chow doesn't give second thought to this.

So anyways, the movie is not all that bad. It is filled with hilarious moments like when Chow has a poetry duel. Gong Li is nice to look at, but it frustrates me that there was no thought put into her character.

The action is limited, but good when it happens. Cheng Pei Pei has 2 fights, and it is always wonderful to see her in action. Gordon Liu shows up as a kung fu master and Leung Kar Yan also gets a fight scene.

This is not a bad movie, just not very deep. I did enjoy the ending.

3/5

Flirting with disaster.......2006-02-23

Sometimes to get a good thing, you have to work for it. I mean REALLY work for it.

And that is the case for the "Flirting Scholar," in a wacky comedy-romance about a guy who has to go to ridiculous lengths to get the girl. The movie gets unnecessarily gross in places, but it's also outrageously funny, especially with Stephen Chow as the hapless title character.

Tong Pak Fu (Chow) is a famous, wealthy artist/poet/kung-fu master, with eight lovely wives. And he's miserable: His wives are rude, wreck his art and spend all their time gambling. But on a boys' day out, he sees the beautiful, kind Chen Heung (Gong Li), and falls madly in love with her. The only problem is, she can't get involved outside her household, so Tong Pak Fu sells himself as a workman.

Through luck, skill and rapping, he manages to become the tutor to the formidable Madame Wah's (Pei-pei Cheng) two sons, and in a position where he can woo Chen Heung. Unfortunately, it turns out that Madame is an old enemy of Tong Pak Fu's family, and will kill him if she finds out his true identity. Can Tong Pak Fu escape and live happily ever after with Chen Heung?

"Flirting Scholar" is basically a boy-meets-girl story, with some song-and-dance numbers and a lot of comic kung-fu. Yes, it's relentlessly silly, but once the plot gets going it's a very amusing light movie. Where else can you see Chow playing the William Tell Overture... with his pulse?

Okay, this film isn't perfect -- several of the gags wear thin after awhile, like that crazed nymphomaniac maid. And please, enough vomiting. Half the people in here throw up. And it's worth noting that whoever did the translations for the DVD box needed to spell-check. When the title is misspelled, it's not a good sign.

However, at the halfway point the plot really takes off -- though there's a subplot about somebody trying to stage a revolution, it's merely an excuse to have more comic fight scenes. And the director has some deliberate anachronisms, like Madame Wah announcing that Tong Pak Fu will be renamed Wah-shington.

Stephen Chow is really the gem in all this. He raps, he dances, he plays tables like drums, and he even sings a song about chicken wings. But he also makes us really like Tong Pak Fu, who just wants a wife who understands him. And Gong Li makes a good love interest for Chow, since her Chen Heung is sweet and beautiful, but also smart and tough.

While "Flirting Scholar" has some flaws (no more vomiting!), it's still a fun little romantic comedy. I like to eat chicken wings!

Average customer rating:

Outstanding cast, lousy script
this is not a funny movie
Sea of Strange
good clean fun!
PERFECTLY PLAYED

Flirting with Disaster [Region 2]
Starring: Ben Stiller , Patricia Arquette , Téa Leoni , Mary Tyler Moore , and Alan Alda
Director: David O. Russell
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000050FJH

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding cast, lousy script.......2007-07-23

this is not a funny movie.......2007-03-27

Sea of Strange.......2005-09-02

good clean fun!.......2005-05-02

PERFECTLY PLAYED.......2005-02-23

If you appreciate sitcoms like "Strangers With Candy" you will love this
outrageous comedy. Right-wing Christians would condamn it!

DVD:

DVD

DVD