Failure to Launch
| Failure to Launch | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Failure to Launch | |
| Directed by | Tom Dey |
| Written by | Tom J. Astle Matt Ember |
| Produced by | Scott Rudin Scott Aversano |
| Starring | Matthew McConaughey Sarah Jessica Parker Zooey Deschanel Kathy Bates Justin Bartha Bradley Cooper Terry Bradshaw |
| Cinematography | Claudio Miranda |
| Edited by | Steven Rosenblum |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | March 10, 2006 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million |
| Box office | $128,406,887 |
Failure to Launch is a 2006 American romantic comedy film. In the movie a 35-year-old man lives in the home of his parents and shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life his parents, especially his mother, have made for him there.
Plot
Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a 35-year-old man, is still living with his parents Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates), in Baltimore, Maryland. Tripp's best friends Demo (Bradley Cooper) and nerdy Ace (Justin Bartha) are also still living in their parents' homes and seem proud of it. Al and Sue are not happy, and are fascinated when friends whose adult son has recently moved away from home reveal that they hired an expert to arrange the matter.
The expert is Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who theorises that men continue to live at home out of low self-esteem. Her approach is to establish a relationship with the man to build up his confidence and transfer his attachment from his parents to her. Her step-by-step process is deceitful; while avoiding physical intimacy, she allows her subject to fall in love with her, pretending to like what he likes, allowing him to help her through a (false) crisis, obtaining the approval of his friends, and giving him the opportunity to teach her something: he then moves out to become more independent.
Tripp is soon discovered to not fit any of Paula's previous profiles, having normal social skills and no problems with self-esteem. He does not commit to long term relationships, and uses his living with parents as a dumping mechanism. After an awkward encounter with his parents, Paula thwarts his attempt to dump her, stays for the night, all the while developing real feelings for him. They find themselves sailing unfamiliar waters and confide with their friends.
Paula's vocation exasperates her terminally-hip roommate, Kit (Zooey Deschanel), who believes that Paula's own breakup with a live-at-home man is the unhealthy motivation behind the job to which she has given over her whole life. Paula, on the other hand, is shocked when the true reason for Tripp's situation is revealed to her: His life essentially collapsed when the woman he was engaged to suddenly died, leaving him emotionally devastated, and his family has been his source of solace ever since. She read her mark all wrong.
Entrepreneurial Ace discovers what is going on and blackmails Paula for a date with Kit; although Kit is more attracted to slacker Demo, the pair wind up bonding over a problem and fall in love. Ace spills the beans to Demo, who in turn ultimately reveals all to Tripp, leading to the film's crisis. Tripp confronts both his parents and Paula, who split in bitterness and guilt, and Tripp moves out, possibly never to speak to his parents or trust a woman again. Racked with guilt, Paula refunds Al and Sue's money, but can't escape being scathingly dressed down by Kit for essentially being an arrogant con artist.
After an awkward confrontation (due to his father's new interest in naturism), Tripp manages to forgive his parents despite not understanding why they couldn't be upfront with him. Still, he can't forgive Paula for her manipulations.
Parents and friends devise a plan to reconcile the two lovers. They tie up and gag Tripp and lock the two of them together in a room while a contrite Paula pours her heart out to him. In the end, it seems that love, and moving out of one's parents' house, is all part of following nature's course. The movie ends with Al and Sue in their empty nest, happily singing "Hit the Road Jack", and Tripp sailing away with Paula on his newly-purchased boat (and home).
Cast
- Matthew McConaughey as Tripp
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Paula
- Zooey Deschanel as Katherine "Kit"
- Justin Bartha as Philip "Ace"
- Bradley Cooper as Demo
- Terry Bradshaw as Al
- Kathy Bates as Sue
- Adam Alexi-Malle as Mr. Axelrod
- Tyrel Jackson Williams as Jeffrey
- Katheryn Winnick as Melissa
- Rob Corddry as Gun Salesman
- Patton Oswalt as Techie Guy
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $24.6 million, ranking first in the United States box office results for that weekend. The film grossed a total of around $90 million in the United States box office and made $128,406,887 worldwide.[1]
Critical response
The film was poorly received by critics, gaining only 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 reviews.[2] Film critic Richard Roeper stated the film was "completely unbelievable."[3]
Some otherwise negative reviews singled out Zooey Deschanel's performance as the film's highlight.[4][5][6] One reviewer wrote that "Even with a relatively small role, she blows the whole movie to smithereens".[4]
See also
References
- ^ Failure to Launch (2006)
- ^ Failure to Launch at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "Failure to Launch Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ a b Elizabeth, Mary (2006-03-10). "Stephanie Zacharek". Salon.com. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan. "Failure To Launch | Film | Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ "Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies". Film Threat. 2006-04-16. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
External links
- Failure to Launch Official Website
- Failure to Launch at IMDb
- Failure to Launch at AllMovie
- Failure to Launch at Rotten Tomatoes
- Failure to Launch at Box Office Mojo
- Sarah Jessica Parker interview: Frank Lovece (March 8, 2006). "Failure' Not an Option". New York Newsday. Retrieved 2009-12-11.