Friday 14th July 2006
By Philip Ellwood
Meet Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a 35-year old ladies' man who still lives with his parents. His mom and dad decide it's time he tried life without them and hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), a beautiful woman who helps parents solve their child's 'failure to launch' issue. Determined to encourage Tripp to move out, Paula finds herself being pulled into the situation more than she'd bargained for and begins to find it hard to draw the line between work and her feelings.
'Failure To Launch' isn't likely to win any awards. Oscar-worthy it is certainly not, but enjoyable it most definitely is. Matthew McConaughey is fast becoming the face of quality rom-coms and his pairing with Sarah Jessica Parker was a great casting decision. McConaughey as always is loveable and Parker plays a character far removed from her 'Sex & The City' role. Together the pair sizzle onscreen and their chemistry is compelling. You genuinely believe that Paula is falling for Tripp and I found myself rooting for them after only 30 minutes of the movie.
McConaughey and Parker are blessed with an impressive support cast. Bradley Cooper (Will from 'Alias'), Kathy Bates ('Misery') and Zooey Deschanel ('Elf') are fantastic in their roles. Deschanel's kooky performance as Kit provides many laughs and distracts from the main storyline as she constantly fails in her quest to kill a Mockingbird that is terrorising her.
The movie is full of improbable scenarios and predictable turns but this doesn't matter. 'Failure To Launch' is a charming movie and is very entertaining. At 90 minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome and offers escapism from the real world for a bit - something we all definitely need from time to time.
The DVD is packed full of extras and contains a variety of featurettes, one of which is hosted by Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha from the movie. They talk to three people selected from 1000's via a competition on MySpace.com to find the one who should be given help to finally move out fo their parents home and overcome their own failure to launch. This is an entertaining extra and highlights the sad fact that there are many people like Tripp out there in the world.
'Failure To Launch' is an above average romatic comedy. Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker are gorgeous together and with the aid of their support cast pull together for an entertaining, feel-good movie. Whilst the plot of the film is never likely to happen in the real world it's nice to watch the world with a pair of rose-tinted glasses on once in a while. Romantic comedies don't come much better than this.
Click here to buy 'Failure To Launch' on DVD
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
