Failure to Launch Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)March 13th, 2006
Failure to Launch
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2.5 out of 4
Director: Tom Dey
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Zooey Deschanel, Terry Bradshaw
Screenplay: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (sexual content, partial nudity and language)
Failure to Launch works like the converse of last year's Will Smith vehicle Hitch. Only, erase Mr. Smith and pencil in Sarah Jessica Parker. Pluck out Eva Mendes and scoot in charming, bronzed Matthew McConaughey. Lug away Kevin James and let Zooey Deschanel into frame. Mix and swirl with some Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw, sweeten the whole affair up with the same small dosage of deceit and romance. Let the fog clear and, whoops, we have Failure to Launch.
Really, the recipe doesn't spell disaster. Hitch was fine and, thus, so too is Failure to Launch. It's just light on affection and heavy with the comedy. The performances are endearing enough, the dialogue quick and crispy with wit, and Zooey Deschanel's sub-plot bizarre enough to actually work.
Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) is an undercover interventionist who works with parents to help their aging sons out of the home and into independence. She dates the sons and, as these films do, makes the men fall in love with her, eventually spelling independence. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey)-thirty five year old boat salesman-is one such client. Problem is-another consequence of the formula-Paula soon realizes that what she has with Tripp may be more than work.
Failure to Launch works its formula by switching up the roles we're expecting. Instead of the manipulative, suavely handsome man calling the plays, the driver behind the wheel is in fact a female. And although the man does have his obligatory guy-friends (named Ace and Demo), they aren't oversexed skirt chasers. One is even a "man of the planet". Director Tom Dey places his hero in a position of vulnerability, and spins his web through the hands of a cute and prim little Sarah Jessica Parker.
This twist of the cliché works in that it allows McConaughey and Parker to play the characters they're type-cast for, but doesn't let them fall into those typical ruts. Parker gets to spark charm and smart wit while casting deceit, and McConaughey gets to bleed southern charisma without being the gun-slinging hero. And the two have some chemistry. As in Hitch, the romance falls flat because the writing isn't geared for it, but the banter between our characters is fun enough in itself.
Zooey Deschanel deserves mentioning here, because she's the sole invention of Failure to Launch. Her sub-plot with a pesky mockingbird inhibiting her sleep patterns is hilarious. And her deadpan skulking and surprise romance with Tripp's friend keeps the film from sinking into impotence. It's the typical Zooey Deschanel we've come to expect from Elf, Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy, and, farther back, Hellboy, but her contrast to the rest of the bouncy cast here is swell.
The problem with Failure to Launch is that it's a bit like a Girl Scout Cookie (random, but I've been eating much too much of them as of late); the film comes and it goes and we laugh some and walk away with a half-meant smile curling up our cheeks. But ten minutes later we're flipping through the newspaper again, waiting again for a film that'll stick. Because, by now, we've already forgotten about Failure to Launch.
-www.samseescinema.com
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