Failure To Launch Review
By David Kempler
Total Failure
Utter Failure
I very rarely venture into the "big" films that Hollywood churns out but a friend wished to see "Failure to Launch" so I agreed to accompany her. It is a runaway hit, something that America should be wholeheartedly ashamed of. Then again, why would the same people who constantly turn out to see drivel be ashamed of it. After all, they think they are seeing good movies.
Many movies stink. This one not only stinks, it absolutely defies reality, which is fine in a fantasy film, but not in a romantic comedy. The story centers around Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), an overgrown stay at home 35 year-old son who has sex with as many hot babes as humanly possible, until he tires of them. At that point he brings them home, where his parents stumble in and scare the girl away. Then it's on to the next girl. His parents, Sue (Kathy Bates) and Al (Terry Bradshaw), for some unknown reason tolerate all of this.
Enter Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) as the solution. Her job, now get this, is to get overgrown kids to move out of their parent's houses by use of deception and kissing. So many ridiculous things occur in "Failure to Launch" that one must wonder how on Earth this ever got made. Oh, I forgot for a second that the majority of American filmgoers are brain dead. Forgive me for forgetting. Anyway, Tripp, who has no visible means of support drives a brand new high priced sports car and just surfs and hangs out with two other overgrown morons. I just stared at the screen in disbelief throughout the whole mess.
One of the great mysteries here is why an accomplished actress like Kathy Bates would agree to appear in such trash. The only answer I can come up with is for the cash. Nothing wrong with that. We'd all probably do the same. Bates has one scene where she is trying to lend some weight to the movie when conversing with Sarah Jessica Parker, even managing to pour out some tears. It's painful and embarrassing to watch. You know a movie is as bad as can be when the highlight is seeing the bare buns of Terry Bradshaw. Don't let anyone drag you to this film and if this is the kind of film you enjoy, never waste your time again reading anything I write.
