Playboy à saisir

I thought this movie was fun. I'm a big fan of Terry Bradshaw and I thought he and Kathy Bates made a "real couple". His "nude room" scene was a scream - I would have never expected that. I also enjoyed the scene Kathy Bates expresses her fears about her marriage to her son and the reasons - a little touch of real life. But my favorite character has to be Kit (Zooey Deschanel). Every comedy movie needs a straight (man/woman) I loved her, she was great. In my opinion the depth of the secondary characters was the strength of this movie. I didn't particularly care for the ending. I look forward to seeing more of Zooey Deschanel - great job!

Failure to Launch (2006)

Another decent but sometimes strained interference with love film. I can think of two more classic recent ones, "Hitch" and "Heartbreaker," and this doesn't rise to those modest heights.

The impressive star of the two leads is the lesser name, charming and gorgeous Matthew McConaughey, who is not just believable but also compelling (which is something different). Across from him is the Sex and the City mega-star, Sarah Jessica Parker, who is good, and who does the job as a would-be pretend girlfriend who really does fall in love. Or not. You'll see.

The whole hook is an obvious one--first the woman is hired to make the man fall enough in love with him that he'll finally move out of his parents house. Then she'll collect her fee and boogie. But no, we know from the get-go, as with any screwball comedy, that the two leads are destined to be together. But when one learns the other's secret, what true love there was goes on the rocks. This is exactly what the other two films (above) did, and I'm sure it's a burgeoning new genre.

What drags it down a bit are the side plots and side characters. Many of these are good or even terrific one way or another, but it's all patched together and a little lightweight and thin. The best of these is Parker's roommate, played with Oscar-worthy dreariness by Zooey Deschanel (who also appeared in "(500) Days of Summer"). But the sideshows of the mockingbird, the biting dolphin, and even the baroque arrangement with the t.v. monitors in the final scenes are all a little clunky. Good on paper, maybe, but in the end you have to make yourself enjoy the best of it all, which will make you laugh and have fun.

No, this won't win any major awards or impress the art world's elite, but it is a funny, delightful diversion on a date night. My husband and I laughed all the way through it - as did the entire theater. I go to movies for a diversion from reality and this met the bill. If you don't expect deep meaningful, life altering messages or commentaries on the deep ills of society you will enjoy the movie.

The performances by the supporting cast were delightful and the best of the movie - especially Kathy Bates and Zooey Deschanel. While the chemistry between the leads was lacking spark, their performances were still fun to watch.

The critics need to relax a little and not expect searing dramatic performances from romantic chic flicks!

I got to see a preview of this the other night . . I went in thinking this was just another silly romantic comedy, but I must say I laughed a bit and enjoyed some of the crude humor. The audience I sat with loved it and laughed often, so I think this will do well in the theater especially those that enjoy Mr. McConaughey's abs and southern charm. There's actually some great nature shots with Dolphins and other fun-loving creatures, but I won't go into detail since it would spoil some of the crude humor in this flick. I think this would make a great date film since most of the film is told from the male perspective, so it's not your typical female male basher. Zooey Deschannel has some great moments as well with her deadpan looks and offbeat charm. There's no Oscar worthy performances here, just a fun silly, offbeat romantic comedy with a little um-nudity from Mr. Bradshaw (no frontal of course).

A 35 year old guy Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) still lives at home with his parents and never wants to move out on his own. Tripp's parents Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates) are sick of him living at home and want to see their son grow up and move on with his life. So one day after hearing a success story for their neighbors, Sue and Al decide that they will hire a woman named Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) who will help motivate and help make Tripp want to move out of the house and start his own life. Comedy and romance ensue…

"Failure to Launch" isn't a bad film by any means but it isn't a great film either. This film is a very typical and average romantic comedy. Some of the jokes work and some don't. When watching this film I felt this movie was almost the exact same thing as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" which I think was a pretty creative and very funny romantic comedy. The problem with "Failure" is that its pretty much the same film. I literally felt like I was watching the sequel called "How to Get A Guy to Move Out of His Parents Place in 10 Days".

The only thing that made this film seem remotely different from "How to Lose A Guy" was Zooey Deschannel's character Kit who as many stated stole the show. I felt the Kit character introduced a character that wasn't seen in most typical romantic comedies. This depressing and sarcastic roommate who wanted to kill the mocking bird that sat outside her window. The character Kit was a very interesting one and brought some unique humor to the film. This character also stole every scene she was in and my favorite scene of the film was where Kit tries to buy a gun.

The main problem with the jokes in the film was the fact that they were so predictable and were over used. The whole animals biting people joke was used 4 times in the film. I felt like the joke barely worked the first time and just seemed to silly for this type of film. Not to mention, the naked butt scene which I felt was just too childish for this film. The jokes along with the storyline was very predictable and anyone who has seen at least one or two romantic comedies could tell you where the film was heading and what was going to happen next.

Matthew McCanaughey pretty much plays the same role in every romantic comedy. He is the pretty boy who works out all the time and loves the ladies. He does a decent job here but this role isn't a stretch for him since the same character he played in the last few movies he starred in. Sarah Jessica Parker does a decent job as Paula although I have a hard time imagining anyone falling in love with Sarah Jessica Parker because I don't find her attractive at all. I would have rather seen Kate Hudson play this role or hell maybe even someone like Anna Faris or Scarlett Johansson. Zooey Deschannel, who I absolutely love, is the best character in the film. Her weird sense of humor and fetishes save this movie from being overly typical. She is a great actress I just hope she does more independent films than mainstream films like this one. And finally Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates do a decent job in this film. But as we all know Bates is capable of doing much better material.

Tom Dey is the man responsible for directing "Failure to Launch". Dey is also responsible for directing "Shanghai Noon" which was a decent action comedy and the horrible "Showtime" with Eddie Murphy and Robert DeNiro. I can't really say that his directing technique is that great and as a director he seems like he makes very mediocre films. There isn't much about "Failure" that is fresh and original nor is there any type of film or camera work that is unique or well shot.

In the end, "Failure to Launch" is more of the same. It's your typical romantic comedy which has some laughs and the same old Hollywood ending. I think if the script was a little more creative than it would have been a great romantic comedy instead of being just like almost every other romantic comedies that I have seen throughout the years. If you're a big fan of romantic comedies you should see this film in the theater because you will probably really like it. If your not I would wait for DVD. I didn't hate this film like I thought I was based on the reviews for it but I just found it very typical. If the movie focused more on the supporting characters than the main ones I feel this film would have been more of a success but hey I'm not the director so I didn't have a say in the matter.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Failure to Launch" is a 6/10. A "How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days" rip-off with similar but not as fun characters.