skjeffrey
This movie is fun for everyone. It has some guy stuff with Tripp hanging out with his buddies, plus the relationship stuff for the ladies. The story has a few twists although it may not have been 100% logical. Good performances from the cast, however one scene with Terry Bradshaw I could do without. Photography and background scenery is excellent. Glad I ignored the critical reviews, those writers obviously need a sense of humour transplant. It's a light rom-com well worth watching.
wes-connors
Showing off his muscle-toned body, Matthew McConaughey (as Tripp) is interrupted with his latest sex partner. She leaves abruptly, after finding out Mr. McConaughey still lives with his parents, at ripe old age of thirty-five. Acting athletic, McConaughey regularly uses his living arrangement to get rid of women, after taking them to bed. His parents want McConaughey to move out, so they hire professional "interventionist" Sarah Jessica Parker (as Paula) to date him and convince McConaughey to leave home. How this is supposed to be such a sure thing isn't clear, but "Failure to Launch" is a comedy, so you roll with the punches. You figure Ms. Parker and McConaughey may become genuinely attracted...This is competently directed by Tom Dey, and shows some obvious strengths in production, but "Failure to Launch" never gets off the ground. The comedy highlights feature McConaughey being bitten by several animals. These bites seems better suited to a low-brow teen comedy starring Pauly Shore or Adam Sandler. Even worse, the squirrel doesn't even bite the area best suited for that joke...The cast may have looked good on paper, but they don't mix on film. The leads usually have "best friends" who are a little older, overweight, or otherwise make the stars look better. They are often "ethnic" (Tyrel Jackson Williams appears herein, as a kid substitute). McConaughey and Parker's peers (Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper) are difficult to accept as second fiddles. Going against the usual stereotypes when casting supporting roles is admirable, but you still want to flatter the leads. Lastly, you'll never guess which of the cast members gets to show bare buttocks in a rear view nude scene. Remember to include older, weightier stars Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw on your wish list.*** Failure to Launch (2006-03-10) Tom Dey ~ Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha
gavin6942
A thirtysomething slacker (Matthew McConaughey) suspects his parents of setting him up with his dream girl (Sarah Jessica Parker) so he will finally vacate their home. Also features a fairly early appearance by Bradley Cooper.Film critic Richard Roeper stated the film was "completely unbelievable." I was not aware it was supposed to be believable. Some otherwise negative reviews singled out Zooey Deschanel's performance as the film's highlight. As much as I hate to say it, she was more or less the best part...Roger Ebert wrote, "I was bitten by a donkey once. It was during a visit to Stanley Kubrick's farm, outside London. I was the guest of the gracious Christiane Kubrick, who took me on a stroll and showed me the field where she cares for playground donkeys after their retirement. I rested my hand on the fence, and a donkey bit me." Yes, this is really in his review, in his attempt to figure out why donkey bites are funny.
Chrysanthepop
'Failure to Launch' is another typical romantic comedy this time following the premise of a 35 year old singleton who refuses to move out of his parent's house. So what do the parents do? They hire a woman who would seduce him and whatever in order to get him to move out of their house. After many desperate attempts, the hired woman even succumbs to prostitution in order to maintain her end of the bargain. There's hardly anything different about this movie but what I liked most was the Zooey Deschanel - Justin Bartha track and I would have liked to see more of that than anything else this movie offered. Kathy Bates is wasted in a clichéd mother role. The actor in McConaughey seems to have vanished these days. He has proved in the past that he could act (examples: 'Amistad' and 'A Time to Kill') but now he may be too image conscious to care about acting at all. Sarah Jessica Parker is just a less whiny version of her (God knows why) famous Carrie Bradshaw persona. Overall, it's pretty much a forgettable film with very few fun moments (all of which include Bartha and Deschanel).
AD
