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MOVIE REVIEW
Failure To Launch
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bradley Cooper, Zooey Deschanel, Kathy Bates, Justin Bartha, Terry Bradshaw
Directed by: Tom Dey
In this silly, far-fetched comedy, Trip is a 35-year-old happy-go-lucky bachelor who works on yachts, has fun with his friends, dates plenty of beautiful women but is a commitment-phobe like many men his age. His
main problem: he lives at home. But his parents make it easy and comfortable. His mom (Bates) cooks, cleans, makes his bed, and does his laundry. We do find out that his fiance died about six years ago and that has made him a bit hesitant to leave the comforts of mommy's nest. His parents (Bradshaw plays his Dad with some refreshing humor) have tired of this and thought he would have healed by now and hire Paula (Parker), a professional "motivator" who dates men to boost their self-esteem in order to enable them to "decide" to move out on their own.
The problem? Trip has plenty of self-esteem. And he does not fall for Paula's Master Plan. In fact, usually he brings women home when he wants to dump them because he knows they get turned off because he lives at home. Rumors flew that Parker and McConaughey did not get along during the filming of Failure to
Launch and it shows. There is no chemistry. The budding romance between the toothy twosome is not believable; therefore Failure to Launch fails miserably. It is unconvincing. The pratfalls and physical comedy and sight gags are unnecessary. There are too many. They are simplistic filler that just takes away from any potentially meaningful or realistic storyline. Trip continues to get attacked by animals because he is not "in tune" with nature or himself? What? Confusion!! This film is pedantic. Are audiences getting dumber or what?
Trip living at home without Paula intervening at all would make a good movie. She was such an unnecessary addition. I wasn't buying that a romance would develop between these two complete opposites in TWO weeks and I didn't buy the concept of this film. Sure Trip is cute. Sure we want him to be happy
but not with Paula, who is terribly uptight. There are a few laughs mainly because Trip had realistic great honest guy friendships with Cooper (Demo) and Bartha (Ace) as well as truthful moments with his patient, long-suffering parents. Failure to Launch never moves beyond the point where the pilot can even remove the light signaling that it is now okay to move about the cabin.
Grade: **
Recommended: Only on DVD or for an extremely non-controversial first date movie.
By Amy Steele
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