Directed by Tom Dey. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Barth, Bradley Cooper, Tyrell Jackson Williams. Romantic Comedy. Synopsis: A successful business man in his late 30's has it going pretty well: making good money, dating a lot of nice young women, and living in a nice house. There is just one thing: he still lives with his parents and has no intention of moving out. His parents conspire with a professional dater, a woman who specializes in this type of thing, to get him out of their house for good.
Failure to Launch is the kind of cutesy romantic comedy that, generally, I am not real anxious to watch. Or so I thought. I wanted to give it a shot, since I like both of the two stars and I had heard some good things about it. I am glad to report that this film is not, surprisingly, the sickeningly sweet romantic comedy that you might think it is, nor is Tripp (Matthew McConaughey Two For The Money) portrayed as the complete loser that you might expect in a 35 year old living with his parents.
In truth, there are many legitimate reasons why one might live with a parent into their 30's (something that your humble blog writer did as well), and most times the parent is more than happy with the situation. In this flick, Tripp is a successful, mature guy who dates a lot and just doesn't see a compelling reason to move out of his parent's (Terry Bradshaw, Kathy Bates Misery) comfortable home.
In fact, a couple of Tripp's best buddies (Justin Barth, Bradley Cooper) are also 30 somethings that live with their parents, so there is not even the peer pressure for Tripp to change up. Tripp's mom and dad love their son, but wouldn't mind it too much if he would just get out on his own and give them some space.
Luckily for them, they find out about a professional dater, a woman who specializes in getting guys out of their parents home. Enter Sarah Jessica Parker (Spinning Into Butter) folks. Now, set aside the obvious question of how someone can make a living doing this, and you can appreciate that she is good at her job and dedicated to it as well.
Of course, we know that they are going to fall in love, but the good thing about this movie is that it keeps the story interesting along the way and the expected funny scenes, although not fresh or innovative, are still funny. Matthew McConaughey is the kind of pretty boy actor that guys can love, largely because of his "I know I'm getting over but I love it and I'm not sorry" attitude. Sarah Jessica Parker is wonderful with her comedic timing and talent, as always, and I really like her roommate in this one (Zooey Deschanel) who is the polar opposite of Parker, but manages to steal most of the scenes she is in.
Terry Bradshaw is hilarious as Tripp's dad, he is a natural at the comedy thing, as those of us who watch him during the NFL season already knew. Sure, I could have done without the nude backside scene, but it is amusing in the context of the film. One of the more tender things that will appeal to many in this movie is Tripp's relationship with his "nephew" (Tyrell Jackson Williams), who we find out late in the film is related to a woman that the ever-playing-the-field Tripp actually wanted to marry.
My biggest complaint about the movie is that the most accomplished and, arguably, most talented, member of the cast didn't have enough to do. To me, when you have Kathy Bates in your cast, you have to make her the focal point of a few scenes, at the very least. But, this is minor in light of the overall movie. This flick delivers just what you think, a neat film with some touching moments and a lot of laughs. Nothing for the ages, nothing that we are going to be talking about on the next Oscar night. But, a good time and a good rental or even purchase. And, when you get right down to it, I can't really expect more than that, can I?
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