Failure to Launch (2006)

Memorable, crazy movie

Awesome Movie

Blistering performances.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I was home one night and planned on watching the immortal classic The Shop Around The Corner for the 20th time on TCM. I decided that the 21st time was even too many times for me. So I decided to give this film a try because I saw Bradley Cooper was in it and I thought he was quite good in The Elephant Man on stage, The Silver Lining Playbook and American Hustle. I could not believe how horrible this film is. I am embarrassed that I live in a world where folks liked this. The script was stupid. The acting, particularly Bradley Cooper, Zooey Deschanel and Jason Bartha were painfully bad. I kept on watching it because Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates actually were terrific and the NY Mets had already won their game. The Shop Around the Corner is a great romantic comedy. Failure to Launch is as we say in NYC, shtick dreck. Go to the Urban Dictionary and look up the expression.

Failure to Launch (2006)Another decent but sometimes strained interference with love film. I can think of two more classic recent ones, "Hitch" and "Heartbreaker," and this doesn't rise to those modest heights.The impressive star of the two leads is the lesser name, charming and gorgeous Matthew McConaughey, who is not just believable but also compelling (which is something different). Across from him is the Sex and the City mega-star, Sarah Jessica Parker, who is good, and who does the job as a would-be pretend girlfriend who really does fall in love. Or not. You'll see.The whole hook is an obvious one--first the woman is hired to make the man fall enough in love with him that he'll finally move out of his parents house. Then she'll collect her fee and boogie. But no, we know from the get-go, as with any screwball comedy, that the two leads are destined to be together. But when one learns the other's secret, what true love there was goes on the rocks. This is exactly what the other two films (above) did, and I'm sure it's a burgeoning new genre.What drags it down a bit are the side plots and side characters. Many of these are good or even terrific one way or another, but it's all patched together and a little lightweight and thin. The best of these is Parker's roommate, played with Oscar-worthy dreariness by Zooey Deschanel (who also appeared in "(500) Days of Summer"). But the sideshows of the mockingbird, the biting dolphin, and even the baroque arrangement with the t.v. monitors in the final scenes are all a little clunky. Good on paper, maybe, but in the end you have to make yourself enjoy the best of it all, which will make you laugh and have fun.

'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).

Failure to Launch is a film that tanked with critics. But I was one of the rare few who actually thought it was funny. Failure to launch is one of those films that is obvious at times and somewhat silly but has things to keep it together. I'm tired of these Matthew Mcconaghay romantic comedies. I have no intention on seeing Ghosts of girlfriend's past. I don't think he can act. But this was probably his last good romantic comedy. The reason why I most liked it was because I thought some of the characters were great and that most of the film was funny. I will name the good characters: Kit(Zooey Deschanel): Kit is Paula's(Sarah Jessica Parker)room mate. Kit is obsessing about killing this mockingbird throughout the entire film. She's great in this film, like in every film she's in. I really thought she was great in this movie.Ace(Justin Bartha): Justin Bartha(One of my favorite actors) plays Ace. When I found out he was in this film, I had to see it. Ace is a dork who actually falls in love with Kit. I just thought he was good as Ace. Like I expected.Trip's parents: The main character's parents(played by Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw) are pretty funny in this film. They remind me of a Barone type couple, which I hate. But I don't hate these people. Though they try to throw their son out of the house, I could see why.I know getting bit by animals time and time and again may not be funny. I thought it was. Mostly do to the film's great characters and good humor but sometimes obvious humor, Failure to Launch still pulls together. I think you should see it.The Plot: Trip is a thirty something year old who still lives with his parents. So one day, his parents hire a woman to date him to try to convince him to move out of the house.