Meet Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a mid-thirties ladies’ man who seems to have it all--a great job selling boats, an active lifestyle (sailing, biking, rock-climbing and surfing), great friends and a beautiful home. The only problem is...it isn’t his. Tripp lives with his parents (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw) and he’s a mama’s boy. Between eating the pancake breakfasts his mom makes for him each morning and putting away the clothes that she washes and folds for him, there isn’t much to convince him to leave home. Why should he? He’s got it made.
Until his parents decide they’ve had enough. Time for Tripp to take a trip and fly from the nest, so to speak. After meeting with some friends, Tripp’s parents decide to hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), an intervention guru. She comes up with a plan that is sure to make Tripp `want’ to leave home. His mother ups the chores, forgets to make breakfast or do his laundry, while Paula does everything to make Tripp `bond’ with her.
Problem is, Tripp has a fear of commitment. Whenever he gets too close, he pulls away. His best pals constantly remind him of this, and bring up a past girlfriend who died tragically (this is perhaps the weakest part of the plot). If a girlfriend becomes too serious, Tripp does the one thing he knows will turn her off. He brings her home. What girl wants a guy who still lives with his parents?
Predictably, Paula becomes much more involved with Tripp than is required professionally and love ensues. But when Tripp finds out about Paula’s deception and that his parents hired her to get him to move out, he is furious. And it is up to his best pals, parents and Paula’s quick-witted, mockingbird-hating best friend Kit, played hysterically by Zooey Deschanel (sister of actress Emily Deschanel--’Bones’), to bring the two back together.
McConaughey plays his role to perfection, and is perhaps a bit too comfortable in the role of noncommittal slacker, while Parker’s performance could have been a bit more emotional. Regardless, the secondary characters help to keep the laughs rolling and all in all, Failure to Launch is just a great bit of lighthearted fun. This is the perfect rainy Saturday afternoon movie! Bates and Bradshaw are also quite comical, although you may find you’ll see much more of Bradshaw than you may have expected!
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of The River and Whale Song (2007 Kunati Books)