Failure to Launch

Directed by Tom Dey

Paramount Pictures



Three Stars



By CHRISTOPHER C. BAKER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER



Riding on the coattails of the sitcom that made her a megawatt star, Sarah Jessica Parker’s latest flick has a premise that might have been an episode of “Sex & the City”—in fact, the two stars of “Failure to Launch” were last seen together in an episode from the show when Carrie visits L.A. to meet Matthew McConaughey, parodying himself. However, despite starring 2005’s Sexiest Man Alive and the former Carrie Bradshaw, “Failure To Launch,” at the end of the day, is still a by-the-books romantic comedy that adds nothing new to the genre.

Tripp (McConaughey), a womanizing bachelor coasting through his thirties, is still living in his childhood home. His fed-up parents (Kathy Bates of “About Schmidt” and football star Terry Bradshaw) hire Paula (Parker), a professional interventionist who makes men fall in love with her so that they will move out of their parents’ pads.

Tripp and his buddies have it great: they don’t have to do laundry, clean up after themselves, or go grocery shopping. The only catch is that their parents sleep in the next room. One might expect this wholly contrived premise of manipulation and sugary-sweet trickery to exhaust itself, as romantic comedies often do, but surprisingly it holds up.

Screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, whose previous credits include a plethora of sitcoms and the upcoming film adaptation of “Get Smart,” take obvious elements from their television experience. The film functions like a sitcom—unsurprisingly, given the writer’s background and that director Tom Dey was the mastermind behind “Showtime,” a Robert DeNiro/Eddie Murphy spoof about reality-based TV cop shows. The script juggles the main love story with numerous subplots—including one about a comical obsession with killing a mockingbird—to keep the audience from getting bored. But even the most naïve viewer can guess every point in the plot—Can Tripp commit? Will Paula admit her true feelings for him?—because it’s all been done before.

Clear parallels are easy to draw between this movie and “How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days,” “Runaway Bride,” and even “Pillow Talk.” However, as we watch Parker seduce McConaughey, perhaps the audience is also being manipulated into thinking this is a smart, funny romantic comedy.

The film crosses off every point on the romantic comedy checklist: all the supporting players find love as well, there are slapstick encounters with animals, and convenient explanations abound in the last reel to tie up all the movie’s loose ends. But, in spite of it all, there are some genuine laughs to be had.

McConaughey’s performance solidifies his place in Hollywood as the newest go-to guy for traditional romantic comedy leads, adding just the right amount of Southern charm and masculinity to his numerous shirtless scenes.

Parker, on the other hand, is an odd fit for this film. She was obviously chosen by producers for her star power; however, quirkier, more mature roles—such as her uptight character in “The Family Stone”—are a more interesting performance from her. She’s past 40, and she’s past cute-but-hackneyed material like this as well. It’s why they ended “Sex and the City” before the girls got pre-menopausal.

The flick also creates a batch of likeable secondary characters—including Tripp’s BFFs (Bradley Cooper, “Wedding Crashers” and Justin Bartha, “National Treasure”) and Paula’s slightly unhinged roommate (indie darling Zooey Deschanel of “The Good Girl”)—adding an intelligent quirkiness that helps “Failure to Launch” differentiate itself from McConaughey’s lesser mushy fare, like “The Wedding Planner.”

Bottom Line: “Failure to Launch” is destined to become the next addition to every 13-year-old girl’s DVD library, in between “The Notebook” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”…even if it’s not as good.