Failure to Launch

In Tom Dey's aptly named romantic comedy Failure to Launch, Matthew McConaughey plays a 35-year-old man still living at home with his parents. When Mom (Kathy Bates) and Dad (Terry Bradshaw) hire a woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) who specializes in “curing” such apparently hopeless Peter Pans (she romances them out of the “nest,” and then later dumps them), the miracle worker (surprise!) falls for her target, but the revelation of their arranged meeting threatens their ability to commit. Also on hand are the obligatory colorful chums on either side—for him, two other stay-at-home types, and for her, an acid-tongued misanthrope. The film trots out all the curdled clichés of the genre (as well as a strange gag about wild animals repeatedly attacking poor McConaughey), while hoping to make some deeper point about people who've never matured. Unfortunately, that point is never made, so we're stuck watching a pair of stars who generate little chemistry surrounded by a roster of grating supporting characters. And just when you think things couldn't get worse, Bradshaw suddenly does a gratuitous nude scene (the only consolation is that Bates doesn't join him in the buff). A love story that never gets off the ground, Failure to Launch is not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include a 14-minute Moviefone.com featurette “Unscripted with Matthew McConaughey and Terry Bradshaw,” the 12-minute “making-of” featurette “Casting Off,” “The Failure to Launch Phenomenon” featurette (12 min.), the seven-minute featurette “Dating in the New Millennium,” and a six-minute segment titled “The Contest” on three MySpace.com users who won free rent in a Failure to Launch contest. Bottom line: a substance-lite extras package for a substance-lite film.] (F. Swietek)