Failure to Launch (2006)
Average Rating: 4.6/10
Reviews Counted: 149
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 113
The few comic gags sprinkled throughout the movie fail to spice up this formulaic rom-com.
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 23
The few comic gags sprinkled throughout the movie fail to spice up this formulaic rom-com.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 414,851
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Movie Info
A overgrown mama's boy who hasn't found the courage to take flight from the nest gets a little help from the girl of his dreams in the one comedy that proves it's never to late to strike out on your own. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) may have hit 30, but that doesn't mean that he's ready to give up the many benefits of living at home with mom (Kathy Bates) and dad (Terry Bradshaw). His desperate parents have had enough, though, and after years of gentle nudging they soon realize that it's going to
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All Critics (156) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (116) | DVD (26)
The movie's notion of humor is exemplified by Bradshaw's extended nude scene.
Top CriticAs listless and phony as Failure to Launch may be, it does have one secret weapon in Zooey Deschanel.
Add to this a confused moral message and it's clear that, as its title inadvertently suggests, this romantic comedy never gets off the ground.
How, exactly, did an idea with this much star power and comic potential manage to misfire?
It's completely unbelievable.
This is a showcase for her [Parker's] sensitive intelligence, her watchfulness, and her way of thinking and reacting. The Family Stone did nothing for Parker, but Failure to Launch makes a strong case for life after Sex and the City.
Fans of Bongo playing narcissist Matthew McConaughey will breeze through this formulaic rom-com, though it possesses about as much charm as it does logic.
It's not funny. It is occasionally witty, but not very often. It seems the filmmakers realized that as well as they fill the frequent dry spells with physical comedy that doesn't really fit the tone of the movie.
A limp romantic comedy, this cut-and-paste bookend to last year's "Hitch" finds Sarah Jessica Parker playing Paula a demoralized romantic turned "professional interventionist."
Formulaic romantic comedy about a stuck-in-adolescence man.
Verging on the preposterous, director Tom Dey's Failure To Launch relies on attractive stars to overcome its lackluster execution.
A wacky, well-crafted romantic comedy which unfolds like a cross between Hitch and Meet the Parents.
Failure to Launch? The same can be said for the movie.
Zooey Deschanel steals so many scenes as Paula's anti-social roommate that she deserves to share top billing alongside McConaughey and Parker.
You can positively smell the filmmakers' misguidedly intent resolution to turn this flick into something that will appeal to 12-year-old boys as well as its targeted chicks.
It's everything wrong with bad romantic comedies, all rolled into one easy-to-hate package.
A romantic comedy in the true sense of the word, "Failure to Launch" is the first certified "date film" of the year.
The multiple contrivances and the inevitable grinding of the storytelling gears will have you itching to go home -- whether you happen to live with your parents or not.
Audience Reviews for Failure to Launch
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Al: [Sitting naked together in a recliner, singing] Hit the road, 'Tripp', and don't ya come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
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- Kit: What the hell kind of devil bird chirps at night.
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