Movie Review: Failure to Launch

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Funny moments and good acting

Cons: Predictable story

The Bottom Line:

Get out of the house?

No, stay home and watch this film

You'll have lots of fun

Launches Fun

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) has a wonderful life. He's handsome, loves his job, and any time he wants to be dumped, he has the perfect plan. He just takes the girlfriend home and lets her find out he still lives with Mom and Dad (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw).

Of course, any intelligent man would still live with these parents. His mom cleans his room from top to bottom while he's in the shower every morning and always makes him a gourmet breakfast, something she doesn't even do for her husband.

His parents aren't as happy with the arrangement. In desperation, they turn to Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker). Paula makes her living helping "launch" guys from their parent's house to their own pad. She has a step by step approach that helps the guy build self-esteem to carry him to his own life. She promises that she'll have Tripp moved out in just a few weeks. But what happens when she starts to fall for Tripp?

Odds are you can probably guess most of this movie just from my plot description. There is one twist I didn't expect, but even so the job of a movie such as this is to keep the audience entertained so we forget we already know where we're going. Here, the movie really shines. Part of the fun is watching Paula at work. We know what she's up to, so several of the scenes become a joke we are in one as we watch Trip fall for each "step" hook, line, and sinker. To top this, there are several genuinely funny scenes, such as the scene that takes all the characters to play paintball. Tripp has some run ins with nature that boarder on the slapstick, but the movie never really gets over the top. Even when the movie gets more serious in the final third, the overall tone is lighthearted.

Helping things along is the great cast. Everyone is having fun, and it keeps the tone light and the audience engaged. The leads have good chemistry, so it is easy to root for them to wind up together. Special note goes to Zooey Deschanel. She plays Paula's moody, brooding roommate and is easily the funniest character in the movie. Her tangles with a mockingbird are great. Equally enjoyable on the guy side are Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper as Tripp's friends. They could have been given a little more to do, but they do make great use of their screen time.

No, Failure To Launch is not "great cinema." It doesn't break any new ground. But it never set out to do either of those things. It is a fun romantic comedy that will keep everyone who watches it entertained. What else matters?