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"Failure to Launch" is an ideal date movie because it has soppy moments for the romantics and plenty of laughs for the hard-bitten cynics. It's a compact film without any fat on it, so you don't feel like you're wasting your time at any point. This is mainly down to the slick direction and ... Read review
The plot ofFailure to Launchis utterly implausible, yet the movie is thoroughly fun. Tripp ... more
(laid-back Matthew McConaughey,Sahara,Dazed and Confused) is a 35-year-old man who still lives with his parents (Kathy Bates,Misery, and ex-quarterback Terry Bra...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The plot ofFailure to Launchis utterly implausible, yet the movie is thoroughly fun. Tripp ... more
(laid-back Matthew McConaughey,Sahara,Dazed and Confused) is a 35-year-old man who still lives with his parents (Kathy Bates,Misery, and ex-quarterback Terry Bra...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Matthew McConaughey is Tripp a 35 year old who still lives with his parents. And who can ... more
blame him? It's free he's got a great room and mom (Kathy Bates) does the laundry. Desperate to get him out of the house his parents hire a gorgeous woman Paul...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Matthew McConaughey isTripp, a 35-year-old who still lives with his parents. And who ... more
canblame him? It's free, he's got a great room, and mom( Kathy Bates - Sahara ) does thelaundry. Desperate to get him out of the house, his parents hire agorgeous woman, Paula ( Sarah Jessica Parker - Sex In The City), to give him a little push. Theyjust didn't expect Tripp would push back! Zooey Deschanel, JustinBartha, Terry Bradshaw and Alias' Bradley Cooper co-star in thisromantic battle of wills that proves there's no place like home. SpecialFeatures: Casting Off Making Of The Film The Failure To Launch Phenomenon Dating In The New Millennium Movie Fone.com Unseripted With MatthewMcConaughey And Terry Bradshaw The Failure To Launch Contest Theatrical Trailer
Failure To Launch (Dir. Tom Dey 2006): Matthew McConaughey is Tripp a 35 year old who ... more
still lives with his parents. And who can blame him? It's free he's got a great room and mom (Kathy Bates) does the laundry. Desperate to get him out of the house his parents hire a gorgeous woman Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) to give him a little...push. They just didn't expect Tripp would push back! In this romantic battle of wills there's no place like home... How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (Dir. Donald Petrie 2003): Andie needs to prove she can dump a guy in 10 days. Ben needs to prove he can win a girl in 10 days. Now the clock is ticking-and the year's most wildly entertaining comedy smash is off and running in this irresistible tale of sex lies and outrageous romantic fireworks!
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Failure To Launch: Matthew McConaughey is Tripp, a 35-year-old who still lives with his ... more
parents. And who can blame him? It's free, he's got a great room, and mom (Kathy Bates) does the laundry. Desperate to get him out of the house, his parents hire a gorgeous woman, Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), to give him a little... push. They just didn't expect Tripp would push back! Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Terry Bradshaw and Alias' Bradley Cooper co-star in this romantic battle of wills that proves there's no place like home.How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days: Oscar nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) and Matthew McConaughey (A Time To Kill) give the battle of the sexes an outrageously unexpected twist in the runaway comedy. As the How to... columnist for trendy Composure Magazine, Andie Anderson (Hudson) agrees to write a first-hand account about what it takes to drive a man out of your life... in exactly 10 days. At the same time, eligible ad agency bachelor Benjamin Barry (McConaughey) accepts a high-stakes bet that he can lure any woman into falling head-over-heels in love with him... also in 10 days. The resulting romantic head-on collision ignites a series of deliriously comic deceptions that prove when it comes to true love... your heart cannot tell a lie.
Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Advantages: A light frothy film that doesn't overdo the schmaltz Disadvantages: Some stereotypical characters
Thirty-something Tripp has it all; money, looks, and a roof over his head. It doesn't seem to worry him that the roof belongs to his parents because he still lives at home. It's great - home cooking, a live-in cleaner and a guarantee that even the hardiest girls will be scared off by his living arrangements. So he can have fling after fling without ever committing himself. But his parents have had just about enough of it. So they hire Paula who specialises ... ...enough to fly the nest. But she hadn't counted on quite how charming he would be and falling for him would be a definite no-no…
To my mind, making a decent romantic comedy is a bit like making a cappuccino. You need a strong base, a good balance of bitter and sweet and just enough froth. Thankfully director Tom Dey knows the recipe. His central conceit is strong, his leads appealing and he's got a gossamer light touch that applies ... more
Thirty-something Tripp has it all; money, looks, and a roof over his head. It doesn't seem to worry him that the roof belongs to his parents because he still lives at home. It's great - home cooking, a live-in cleaner and a guarantee that even the hardiest girls will be scared off by his living arrangements. So he can have fling after fling without ever committing himself. But his parents have had just about enough of it. So they hire Paula who specialises in creating fake relationships that make men grow up just enough to fly the nest. But she hadn't counted on quite how charming he would be and falling for him would be a definite no-no…
To my mind, making a decent romantic comedy is a bit like making a cappuccino. You need a strong base, a good balance of bitter and sweet and just enough froth. Thankfully director Tom Dey knows the recipe. His central conceit is strong, his leads appealing and he's got a gossamer light touch that applies equally to comedy and romance. As a result he's never afraid to throw away jokes, safe in the knowledge another one will be along shortly. And his comic timing is particularly important in scenes where slapstick rears its head; it occurs, bam, and then moves swiftly onwards. He doesn't overdo the schmaltz, allowing the relationship between Tripp and Paula to develop at a reasonable pace and throwing in more comic scenarios just when it looks like things might get slushy. The film trots along at a brisk pace and there's plenty here to entertain and amuse viewers of either gender. There's little to cause offence to more sensitive viewers, with all sex being implied; but there's plenty of on-screen sex appeal for those with broader tastes. The casting works because the big names involved aren't afraid of being laughed at, so really throw themselves into the action, while mostly maintaining a sense of realism. The visuals are pristine and suitably glossy. Everyone lives in the relative comfort and security of the upper-middle class, never having to worry about anything other than how to fill their seemingly endless leisure time. There's nothing particularly original about the content or execution, but Dey keeps the action snappy, making for a brisk and entertaining ninety-seven minutes.
The screenplay by Tom J Astle and Matt Ember follows the standard romantic comedy format (boy meets girl, fate conspires to keep them apart, they get together in the end), but with added laughs. Much of this is down to the use of comic sidekicks. Tripp has a whole band of other middle-aged men living at home, with whom to discuss the situation, while Paula has her terminally grumpy housemate Kit. Some of them are even given self-sustaining sub-plots that have a beginning, middle and end. However, some of the players are nothing more than plot devices, like Tripp's parents. But they are deftly sketched and given enough jokes to make their existence worthwhile. The comedy encapsulates both the physical and verbal, using one-liners and slapstick. There's a nice running gag that sees Tripp being attacked by all manner of otherwise peaceful animals, leading to all manner of highly improbable but very amusing set-pieces. Where the film falters a little is in its insistence on giving Tripp a vaguely tragic back-story. I don't understand why he can't just live at home because he wants to, instead of through some deep psychological need. Either way, it doesn't really affect the direction of the story. Though the outcome may be predictable, the journey to it is entertaining and the characters likeable.
All Matthew McConaughey has to do to make any film worth watching is take off his shirt. His female fans will be glad to know there's plenty of flesh on show here. But his matinee idol good looks aren't the only reason to watch him as Tripp. He's warm and charming in a laid-back southern way that stops short of smarm. He has lovely easy chemistry with Sarah Jessica Parker that makes their relationship believable and decent timing with both physical and verbal comedy. The result is another winning romantic comedy lead performance from McConaughey.
Sarah Jessica Parker finally hits the right note with a big screen performance as Paula. She's fun and sexy in a non-threatening way and manages to be girly without being irritating. Okay, she squeals a bit much for my tastes, but she doesn't make me want to slap her. It's a warm performance that fits her much better than many of her other big screen outings and is made by her chemistry with McConaughey.
The supporting cast comprises a lot of recognisable character actors. Kathy Bates is warm but sarcastic as Tripp's protective but exasperated mother. Zooey Deschanel is good comic value as Paula's downbeat goth roommate Kit. She's tense, mean, eccentric and above all deadpan. It's a bizarre character but Deschanel gives it her all and just about makes her breathe. Tripp's other man-child mates are little more than stereotypes. But Justin Bartha makes computer geek Ace likeable and Bradley Cooper is so laid-back he's horizontal as their trippy hippy friend Demo.
Rolfe Kent's score is by no means groundbreaking but is anodyne enough not to distract from the story. It is somewhat predictable in its use of Spanish guitar and warm flutes, though it goes out on more of a limb with some 70s style jazzy clarinet. But it goes back to music-by-numbers during the romantic sequences, relying on schmaltzy flute and string arrangements or syrupy piano and string melodies. The soundtrack features Eels, doing their brand of happy melancholia and there are original recordings of "This Thing Called Love" and "Hit the Road Jack". Overall, it's an inoffensive collection of music that doesn't really push the boundaries.
The effects throughout are a mixture of CGI, animatronics and physical stunts. So when Tripp is bitten by a lizard while rock climbing, we see him falling off a cliff, hitting the ground with a really hard thump and the lizard laughing its' little animatronic head off. It's weird but it works because it looks like the stuntman really has injured himself. Less convincing are the computer-generated effects. The mocking bird that annoys Kit so much she wants to kill it doesn't move in quite the right way. "Failure to Launch" is an ideal date movie because it has soppy moments for the romantics and plenty of laughs for the hard-bitten cynics. It's a compact film without any fat on it, so you don't feel like you're wasting your time at any point. This is mainly down to the slick direction and snappy writing, but the appealing lead performances don't hurt either.
Advantages: funny, sweet, good performances (particularly Zooey Deschanel) Disadvantages: a little cheesy at times, panned by critics
I'd heard quite a few reviews label "Failure To Launch" a bit of a dud, but it's a film I've always been interested in watching anyway! So I recently made the decision to buy it. For one thing, I could get it cheap on play.com. Secondly, I liked the idea of the film and - um, hello! - the bee-yootiful Matthew McM was in it. And thirdly, as you probably know about me by now, I rarely let bad film reviews put me off - in fact, I often take them as ... ...to expect from this, mainly based on the reviews it had received. However, I tried to go into watching it with an open mind and not let any negativity bias me one way or the other.
The story centres around Tripp, a thirty five year old man who is successful, handsome and charismatic. His main flaw is that he still lives with his parents - why would he leave after all? His mum cooks and cleans for him, and does his laundry, and it means he doesn't ...
Pmshack99 31.12.2007 (30.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Failure To Launch (DVD)
Advantages: Good story and acting, soon good funny bits Disadvantages: Predictable
...watch a proper chick flick. Failure to Launch is one which a grabbed from Tesco when I was there yesterday and I was quite surprised by it.
The film stars Mathew McConaughey who plays the part of Tripp, he is a 35 year old man who is still living at home with his parents. He is scared of commitment and when a girlfriend seems to be wanting too much from him he takes them to his home and they soon do a runner when they realise he still lives with ... ...Casting off: The making of Failure to Launch
The Failure To Launch Phenomenon
Dating in New Millennium
Moviefone.com Unscripted with Matthew Broderick and Terry Bradshaw
The Failure To Launch Contest
Theatrical Trailer
I did not take the time to watch any of these features as they have very little interest to me as the film was not 100% great.
The running time of this film is 92 minutes which I feel is a great length as they really could not ...
sewbizzie 03.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Failure To Launch (DVD)
Advantages: Very funny, the sexy Matthew McConaughey is in it woohoo Disadvantages: None that come to mind
...Off - The Making of Failure to Launch 2. The Failure to Launch Phenomenon
3. Dating in the new millennium 4. Moviefone.com Unscripted with Matthew McConaughey and Terry Bradshaw
5. The Failure to Launch Contest
6. The Trailer
Running time is 92 minutes, it is rated a 12 as does contain some strong language and moderate sex references. You can watch the DVD with subtitles if needed.
Thank you for reading
Mell (May 2008) ...
melliebird 21.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Failure To Launch (DVD)
Advantages: Great cast, funny Disadvantages: Some will say it's just another chick-flick
Failure To Launch is the 2006 romantic comedy starring the gorgeous Matthew McConaughey & everybody?s favourite sexpert Carrie Bradshaw, also known as Sarah Jessica Parker! Failure To Launch was launched (pardon the pun!) on 10th March 2006 & was greeted with mainly negative reviews however for the life of me I can?t understand why. It seems that all comedies & chick-flicks get bad reviews though even if they?re pretty good. I think the critics only ... ...is rated 12. Failure To Launch is directed by Tom Dey who?s limited work includes; Shanghai Noon & Showtime. The two leads in the film are, as mentioned before Matthew McConaughey & Sarah Jessica Parker. Matthew McConaughey is most famous for romantic comedies such as; The Wedding Planner, Fools Gold & How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Sarah Jessica Parker, as I?m sure a lot of the female readers will know is famous for playing sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw ...
Great_reviewer07 22.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Failure To Launch (DVD)
Advantages: Decent comedy Disadvantages: A bit predictable
...revelations about the pair.
Failure To Launch is one of those sickly-sweet rom coms that Hollywood churns out at a rate of one per week, complete with the modern twist of the cynical best friend to give it an edge of the bittersweet. And where the cynical best friend is usually hysterically good, here Zooey Deschanel just doesn't have the acting ability nor the charisma to do it convincingly. And yet she gets some of the best lines of the film. ... ...then to uphold the comedy end of the film, both of them as dense as the other. Sarah Jessica Parker races through a role she could do in her sleep, and Matthew McConaughey smugly smirks his way through his arrogant but affable Tripp. But here, its the elder roles who steal the show. Kathy Bates is superb as the loving mother who sort of wants her son out of the house, but would quite happily cook and clean for him the rest of her life whilst Terry ...
bilbob20 02.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Failure To Launch (DVD)
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Advantages: funny, great performance Disadvantages: none
executive and wants to work on the diamond project. Ben tells his boss and his rival co-workers that he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. His co-workers the two Judy were at Composure Magazine and know about Andie?s new assignment on losing a guy in 10 days by using the usual mistakes women can commit. They insist to choose Ben a girl from the bar. Naturally they chose Andie.
So Ben and Andie meet in the bar and neither Andie nor Ben reveal their true intentions about their relationship. Try to imagine what trick they play on each other! Can Ben make Andie fall in love with him? Can Andie lose Ben in 10 days? Both of them can?t win this bet. Who will win?
My opinion
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It was long time ago I saw this film for the first time. Actually we have it on a DVD which was packed together with FailuretoLaunch so I ...
Advantages: Amusing, easy to watch, cool extras Disadvantages: bit predictable, not original
there is some real chemistry between them, and the story goes from there...
Extras
The extras on the dvd are quite good.
They include:
Making Of
Interview With Matthew McConaughey And Terry Bradshaw
FailureToLaunch Contest
Featurettes
Theatrical Trailer
and more
but they are quite often about the problem of modern men who won't leave their parents's homes, however the other extras are quite interesting to watch.
This DVD is worth watching for amusement and if you are fans of the main actors, it'snot the best rom-com I've seen but certainly not the worst, give it a try! ...
Making Of,, Interview With Matthew McConaughey And Terry Bradshaw,, Failure To Launch Contest,, Featurettes,, Theatrical Trailer, Interactive menu
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
Director Tom Dey obviously cherishes 30's comedies, and he confidently guides a screenplay that has some of the sass and bit of those oldies through the screwball rapids. Mr. McConaughey and Ms. Parker make well-matched sparring partners (New York Times, )
DVD Description
Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker, SEX AND THE CITY) has a highly unusual job in this at times cartoonish romantic comedy: she's an interventionist. What this means is that parents of young men who are still living at home well into adulthood can hire her to date their sons, which lends the often troubled men the fortitude to strike out on their own. Trip (Matthew McConaughey) seemingly fits this description perfectly; a 35-year-old extreme sports enthusiast and boat salesman, he uses his living situation to quickly end any relationship that becomes too serious. Trip's doting mother (Kathy Bates) and quirky father (former quarterback Terry Bradshaw) hire Paula at their friends' adamant recommendation, and she sets about her tried-and-true method of winning Trip over. A few obstacles emerge, however, as Trip's buddy Ace (Justin Bartha) finds out the truth, and must be bribed by a date with Paula's hilariously hostile roommate Kit (Zooey Deschanel). Paula also discovers a few things about Trip's past that make her realise how different he is from the rest of her clients, but just as she begins to develop real feelings for him, disaster strikes. Some of the best and funniest moments in FAILURE TO LAUNCH are provided by its supporting cast. Deschanel provides dry, intelligent humour in a subplot involving a mockingbird that's taken up residence outside her window, as well as her courtship by adoring suitor Ace. Bates as usual gives a complex performance, doing much with the part provided for her, while a game Bradshaw is appealing in his eccentricities. The film's somewhat fantastical plot is quickly eclipsed by the charm of the characters, the irresistible slapstick humour, and, in the end, heart-warming sentiment and lessons learned.
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