Failure to Launch
Directed by Tom Dey

By Cam Lindsay

God only knows how many studio execs and creative hands will lose their jobs over allowing the title of this film to stick, but if the prophesy holds true, Failure to Launch will live up to its name when it comes to counting the box office receipts.

Doomed to forever live a life of ridicule and mockery on the rental store shelves, this rom-com starring Matthew McConaughey, the “sexiest man alive,” and everyone’s favourite TV sex/relationship columnist, Sarah Jessica Parker, on paper seems like it has the potential to slip through the cracks as a likeable piece of fluff. But, oddly enough, it’s the unorthodox chances, which most of these films are too scared to take, not the conventional approaches that subdue its promise.

In fact, Dey’s film even has a relatively smart plot but somehow he manages to mess up what seems like an easy job. McConaughey plays Trip, a 35-year-old boat broker who still comfortably and proudly lives with his parents (Kathy Bates and a disappointing but sometimes very nude Terry Bradshaw). In a bid to get him to leave their nest, Trip’s parents hire Paula (Parker), a professional dater (but, apparently, not a hooker) who specialises in seducing then freeing adult men from their parents’ abode, and of course, she falls for Trip in the process and romance ensues.

McConaughey has the personality and charm to pull off his role, but there’s little chemistry between him and Parker, who together come off looking as if they’re way too old for such a quirky story and fail to create the spark that makes us want them to actually survive as a couple. The fact that their friends appear to be a good decade younger doesn’t help our aging romantic couple’s chances of winning over the viewer either.

An even bigger problem is the balance in the styles of film it attempts to employ. Dey is confused with what kind of movie he wants to make, sullying a story about love and growth (sigh…) with a series of harebrained sequences involving Trip being attacked by a variety of creatures (dolphin, chipmunk and vegetarian lizard), as well as a farcical scene where a man gives CPR to a dying mockingbird.

With wasteful but noble supporting efforts from the lovable Zooey Deschanel and The Daily Show’s Rob Corddry (who wisely chose to be uncredited), Failure to Launch is a big, ugly mess of a date flick that will certainly live and die by its appropriate title. (Paramount)

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey - Dir. by Sam Dunn, Scot McFayden and Jessica Joy Wise
Metal is a genre of music that is often stereotyped, dismissed and condemned but it’s also misunderstood by many, even those who consider themselves experts, fans or even “metal” musicians. Metal-head lifer Sam Dunn’s documentary is an anthropological study of the music and its characteristics that could have easily gone wrong. ...Read More
16 Blocks - Dir. by Richard Donner
A Good Woman - Dir. by Mike Barker
A Simple Curve - Dir. by Aubrey Nealon
Beowulf & Grendel - Dir. by Sturla Gunnarsson
Dave Chappelle's Block Party - Dir. by Michel Gondry
Dear Wendy - Dir. by Thomas Vinterberg
Eight Below - Dir. by Frank Marshall
Final Destination 3 - Dir. by James Wong
Firewall - Dir. by Richard Loncraine
Freedomland - Dir. by Joe Roth
Imagine Me & You - Dir. by Ol Parker
Joyeux Noel - Dir. by Christian Carion
Little Fish - Dir. by Rowan Woods
Lucid - Dir. by Sean Garrity
Madea's Family Reunion - Dir. by Tyler Perry
Neil Young: Heart Of Gold - Dir. by Jonathan Demme
Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch) - Dir. by Timur Bekmambetov
Rhinoceros Eyes - Dir. by Aaron Woodley
Running Scared - Dir. by Wayne Kramer
She's the Man - Dir. by Andy Fickman
Thank You For Smoking - Dir. by Jason Reitman
The Hills Have Eyes - Dir. by Alexandre Aja
The Last Trapper - Dir. by Nicolas Vanier
The Libertine - Dir. by Laurence Dunmore
The Pink Panther - Dir. by Shawn Levy
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Dir. by Tommy Lee Jones
The World's Fastest Indian - Dir. by Roger Donaldson
These Girls - Dir. by John Hazlett
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story - Dir. by Michael Winterbottom
Tsotsi - Dir. by Gavin Hood
What the Bleep!?: Down The Rabbit Hole - Dir. by Mark Vincente
Why We Fight - Dir. by Eugene Jarecki
"Slayer!" Second only to pleas for Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird," virtually every concert-goer of the past quarter-century has heard this passionate cry unleashed during a show, metal or otherwise. There's a reason. The Huntington, California metal quartet is hands-down one of the boldest, most agile, impassioned bands in the history of recorded music. There's no mistaking Slayer.... Read More
The consistency of the recorded output of hardcore giants Converge is unparalleled ― there isn't another band in aggressive music functioning today that manage to push out into new sonic directions with each album they release without making some painful miscalculations. For over a decade, Con... Full Review
While there's no doubt many in the music industry are still struggling to recover from that wicked roundhouse to the head dealt ten years ago by Napster and the dawn of file-sharing, this year's Transmission music conference, recently held in Victoria, felt somehow lacking in the coherence of purpose that made last year's conference such a success. More troubling, though, was the continued absence of input from two rather significant players in the music business: musicians and consumers.... Read More
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the March 2006 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front Five  •  Points  •  Comics  •  Questionnaire  •  Research  •  Timeline  •  Videogames • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  What I Play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues