Failure to Launch Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)March 7th, 2006
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Okay parents of America, it's time to come clean and admit your inner fears. Confess! What keeps you awake at night isn't the worry that your teenagers will get pregnant or do drugs. No, what really frightens you the most is that, when it comes time to bid your newly adult children adieu, they won't leave! Now you've said it. You've gotten a load off of your mind. Nothing like a little honesty to clear the air and improve your emotional
disposition.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH, by director Tom Dey (SHANGHAI NOON), is a romantic comedy about what happens when parents' worst fears are realized and they find that their thirty-five-year-old son is still enjoying the same free room, board and maid service that he did when he was a toddler. Although it could have been a horror movie for parents, this charmer of a picture is lighthearted fun, thanks to a wonderful ensemble cast, who manage to outshine the film's stars, Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Trip (McConaughey), who dresses like a beach bum, is a guy with classic commitment issues. He tells his 35-year-old buddies, who also live with their parents, "I'm not afraid of love. I love love," which, of course, really means that he doesn't want to get within a mile of it.
Figuring that only a lovely woman will be able to lure Trip away, his parents, Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates), hire a "professional interventionist" named Paula (Parker) to entice Trip to vacate the premises. Since she is a professional, she does not fall in love with her clients and certainly doesn't sleep with them. But, since this is a movie, she violates both rules. Since both share golden tans and beautiful bodies, it is obvious from the casting where the story must be heading.
In a movie with many delicious lines, my favorite came in a bit of boomer philosophy from Trip's almost 60-year-old dad. "When I was growing up, nobody had self-esteem, and we turned out okay," he points out.
The secret to Paula's success is that she always figures out what her clients want and gives it to them. And the secret to FAILURE TO LAUNCH is the subtle scene stealing performance by ELF's Zooey Deschanel as Kit, Paula's roommate. Even in silly setups, as when Kit tries to kill a blabbermouth mockingbird that won't let her sleep, she is both sweet and believable. My favorite scene of hers comes when she tries to buy a shotgun and a single bullet or shell, as the discombobulated sales clerk tries to explain.
Sometimes a movie works because all of the ingredients come together so well. FAILURE TO LAUNCH is one of those movies.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH runs a breezy 1:37. It is rated PG-13 for "sexual content, partial nudity and language" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, March 10, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
