Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Tom Dey
Cast :
Kathy Bates……….Sue
Terry Bradshaw……….Al
Matthew McConaughey……….Trip
Sarah Jessica Parker……….Paula
Justin Bartha……….Ace
Bradley Cooper……….Demo
2005 was a pretty good year for Matt McConaughey. He had a moderate hit in the action-adventure film Sahara and was named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” On these coattails McConaughey follows up his moniker with a romantic comedy that is more of a failure than a launching pad for his rising star with Failure to Launch.
McConaughey stars as Trip, a 35 year old boat broker who seems to have it all. He makes good money selling boats, he drives a Porsche, has a great wardrobe and marvelous teeth. Smooth and charming, he romances a new girl by the week and has a surefire method of getting rid of them when it becomes serious: he introduces them to his parents, with whom he still lives. Sue (Kathy Bates) and Al (Terry Bradshaw) want Trip to leave the nest and hire an expert (Sarah Jessica Parker) who specializes in the removal of sons from their parents’ homes. But this time it’s different, as the usual sort of romantic comedy implications end up hijacking this paid for romance turned real.
But reality is something the film really doesn’t have much of as the usual romantic comedy formula is meshed with the basic story and plot structure of Hitch, except without the sort of civility Will Smith’s smash success had. Paula has a plan on getting Trip out of the house, and it’s a logical one in theory, but at the same time it’s crueler than anything else. As her formula for success moves forward, the story doesn’t allow her to grow and become a warm character. Parker is a talented actress and seemingly game for the role but this is a case of her not being right for the character. Parker and the character of Paula have a repulsive set of circumstances in a positive light, making her cruel as opposed to comedic. It’s a mismatch in every sense of the word.
McConaughey is another mismatch of characters as well. While the role of Trip might be something good for his acting resume, the character doesn’t mesh with the sort of persona McConaughey brings to the screen. It’s hard to buy him as a guy who is so stuck in his ways with his parents it would take more than “a stick of dynamite” to get him out of the house. His carefree style and persona don’t mesh with the inherent character of Trip; he finds ways of making it work with the character but the film isn’t written or directed strong enough to allow him to be successful doing it. He and Parker don’t have a lot of chemistry either; the rumors of on-set clashes between the two definitely had an influence on the finished product. While the chemistry between the two stars is nowhere to be found, the film has some technical issues as well.
And that’s ultimately the film’s downfall; Tom Dey tries to do too much in terms of camerawork with too little of a script to work with. There are too many quick-cuts and sloppy editing decisions at work, as the last act of the film feels pasted onto the first 2/3 of Failure to Launch. The film does have the usual romantic comedy pratfalls and formula, which doesn’t help things, but it’s a movie with a pedestrian pace and some baffling technical decisions.
