Review: Failure to Launch (2006)
- From: "samseescinema" <sammeriam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 14:23:59 -0500
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.
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