D.C. MOVIE GUYS

JOE’S REVIEW: “FAILURE TO LAUNCH”

In recent decades, a phenomenon known as the “empty nest” syndrome was often spoken about on talk shows and used as a theme for television programs. The plot or discussion involvd againg parents whose children were grown up and out in the world on their own. A sometimes uncertain economy, children who’ve been lavished with tremendous amounts of attention and material comforts and a general desire on the part of “baby boomer” parents to be seen as being their children’s friends, as well as their parents, has led to the reversal of the trren. “Boomerang” kids, who return home to live after college or a failed relationship, are now a common presence in many homes.
Therew are also children who never leave. In the new comedy “Failure To Launch”, one set of parents takes a rather drastic approach to getting their son out of the house.

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) is a handsome and charming young man. He has plenty of friends and is popular with women. He’s very good at his job as a luxury boat broker. He is thirty-five years old and still lives at home.
His parents, playedd by Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw, love and are proud of him, but want him to get his own place. When talking wwith some neighbors who were in a similar situation, they discover Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker). She is a “professional girlfriend”
who will help awaken the inner man in your Peter Pan, build his self-confidence and get him to move out and on for a fee. While she will form an emotional connection, she won’t sleep with her subjects.

Bates and Bradshaw put Paula to work on Tripp and things go swimmmingly-until two things happen. First, Paula finds hersaelf unexpectedly falling for him. Second, she discovers something about Tripp’s romantic past that puts him and his situation in a new light. Facing an emotional crossroad, Paula must decide how she’ll deal with what she knows and whether she can tell Tripp what he need to know about her.

Screnwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember start out with a humorous, slightly offbeat premise that they effectively play for laughs. Though McConauhey’s Tripp and his buddies who are also living at home are occassionally described as slackers, they are reallly decent, sweet guys who have their own reasons for staying at home. Someare lame, some not. Just when we think we’ve seen through the gauzy thin script, the writers surprise us by taking things in some surprisingly serious and romantic directions. Much like the Adam Sandler film from last year “Fifty First Dates”, what begins as breezy fun gains some need heft by the final credits.

Director Tom Dey keeps things moving briskly along and benifits greatly from very good work by hhis cast. McConaughey and Parker do some of the best, most relaxed and engaging work of their careers. Zooey Deschannel is a constant delight as Kit, Paula’s roommate and best friend. Bates is a comic gem as Tripp’s mom and Bradshaw is surprisingly good as his father.

Spirited and energetic, “Failure To Lauch” doesn’t fail to amuse or delight.
It is a refreshing changre from the loud, crass laugh machines that pass for movie comedies these days.

:MPAA RATING PG-13 for profanity and mild sexuality.
JOE’S RATING: THREE STARS

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