Failure To Launch

Review by: Doc

Very Funny...
It would be hard to find a film in recent memory with such a diverse set of opinions voiced by its reviewers. Some absolutely despise it, others love it. I find myself in the latter group. This light romantic comedy stars Matthew McConaughey as Trip, a man who, in his mid-thirties, still lives at home. In fact, he uses his living arrangements to drive away any woman who gets too close to being serious and threatens to interrupt his fun. Sarah Jessica Parker is Paula, a woman who hires out her wiles to lure the “homebound” male into moving out by “linking with him romantically”. Trip’s parents hire her after they note how happy some friends are who used her services to get rid of their son.


Yes, it’s formulaic and rather predictable. Yes, underneath it all, Trip is a cad and Paula is a, …well, sort of an emotional hooker; after all, she takes money to feign interest in the geeks and losers of the world. They are really are sort of despicable people that we are supposed to like.


In supporting roles we have Terry Bradshaw as Dad and the inimitable Kathy Bates as Mom. Early on in the film, as I watch her clean up his messes, do his laundry, fix him a breakfast fit for a king, and send him to work with his lunch packed, I wondered why he would ever leave. She is wonderful as the aging mother struggling to adapt to a grown son and a retired husband, now home all the time, and irritating most of it.


Also, Zooey Deschanel shines as Paula’s eccentric…crazy?... roommate. The side plot of her struggles with a bird that sings outside her window at night leads to some of the funniest moments in the film.


For most of this movie, I could envy Trip’s lifestyle. Rock climbing, mountain biking, sailing, paintball, and a good job while living free and enjoying home cooking. It is only later; as we learn the reason he has retreated to his childhood room and security, that his pain becomes obvious. One of my pet peeves in this type of movie is the reaction of the protagonist when he finds out about the deception. In most, it seems strained and artificial. In this one, the awkward family dinner and confrontation Trip engineers had me thinking, “Yes, that’s how I would do it.”. In his anger here, Trip utters a single word of profanity that carries more weight than every four-letter word in Scarface. In most films of the 21st Century, we are drowned in profanity until it loses its value to shock, inform, or characterize. Here, it is used correctly, as spice is used in small amounts to enhance a dish. The rage in the actor’s eyes spits out in one word, defining the moment. I loved it, and felt the rage with him.


The supporting characters are well done, the side plots are funny, and the resolution, while expected, is satisfying. Above all, the movie is very funny, something sorely missing in many “comedies’ today. I give it 4 of 5 scalpels and an entertained phalanx up.

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