Product Details

• Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Zooey Deschanel
• Directors: Tom Dey
• Writers: Matt Ember, Tom J. Astle
• Producers: Karen Dexter, Ronald M. Bozman, Scott Aversano, Scott Rudin
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Widescreen, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FILV1Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,229 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Failure to Launch (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The plot of Failure to Launch is utterly implausible, yet the movie is thoroughly fun. Tripp (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 Bradshaw)--and they aren't happy about it. Eager to get him out of the nest, they hire Paula (Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker), a professional motivator who feigns relationships with boy-men so that their improved self-esteem will lead them to leave the nest. But Tripp's not the usual insecure shut-in Paula's used to, and as sparks fly, Paula finds herself losing her professional distance. This sort of set-up drove classic screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s; once you embrace the absurdity, the movie zips along with a surprising balance of humor and bittersweet shadings. Failure to Launch gets a huge boost from the supporting performance of Zooey Deschanel (Elf) as Paula's housemate Kit--part sourpuss, part tomboy, and entirely sexy and winning. McConaughey and Parker have enjoyable chemistry and carry the movie well, but Deschanel is an oddball romantic-heroine-in-waiting. Also featuring Bradley Cooper (Alias) and Justin Bartha (National Treasure). --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

A THIRTYSOMETHING SLACKER SUSPECTS HIS PARENTS OF SETTING HIM UP WITH HIS DREAM GIRL SO HE'LL FINALLY EVACUATE THEIR HOME.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "When the animals attack!", July 4, 2006

By 

M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Failure to Launch (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition) (DVD)

Totally formulaic and with such an outrageous premise that it's almost impossible to take seriously, Failure to Launch is mostly saved by the charisma of its all star cast, particularly the attractive supporting players who garner most of the film's few laughs. It's a movie that constantly hovers around sit-com territory, even though somewhere in the depths of its mediocrity it presents a very real and disturbing issue - the phenomenon of thirty something males, or "boy men" who still like to live at home with their parents

Mathew McConaughey is Trip, a commitment-phobic 35-year-old whose "failure to launch" means he's still living with his parents in their tidy suburban home, enjoying Mom's egg and pancake breakfasts whilst she contentedly does his washing and tidies his room. Trip is a charming all round nice guy, who sells luxury yachts for a living, but he's also spoilt and somewhat sheltered and he can't keep a girlfriend because they freak out every time he brings them home to meet the parents.

Apparently there exists a profession for women whose job it is to inveigle and seduce these adolescent male adults from the nest - yes it's really true! Sarah Jessica Parker plays Paula, one such "consultant," who fell into the profession a few years earlier when she failed to disentangle herself from a beau from his mom and dad's house. Paula's been hired by Trip's parents - a capricious Kathy Bates and a laidback Terry Bradshaw - to seduce Trip on the assumption his newborn passion will motivate him to grow up and leave home.

No surprises here - it's boy meets girl and accidentally fall in love, boy and girl have a misunderstanding and then eventually come together again. And I'm still not sure whether Trip ever actually moved out of home - maybe he ended up buying the boat! McConaughey and Parker have a great deal of chemistry together, and Parker is always fun to watch, but they are constantly left high and dry with thanklessly predictable scenes.

Zooey Deschanel is, as usual, a standout as Paula's sardonic, possibly manic-depressive roommate, her brand of humor is impossibly dry and she turns the character into a wonderful comic foil. Tripp's only friends, Ace (Justin Bartha) and Demo (Bradley Cooper), also are stay-at-homers and provide some welcome eye candy to the proceedings, especially up-and-coming actor Bradley Cooper. Failure to Launch is pretty much a movie of comic stupidity and distractions, basically aiming for the lowest common denominator in entertainment.

Along with a bunch of stupid - but admittedly cute - pet tricks, the characters play paintball games, go sailing and then rock climbing, they eat lunch in fish restaurants and have silly, petty arguments - there's a real sense of desperation with the writers here - anything to build a false sense of forward thrust into a story that is predictably dead on arrival. Mike Leonard July 06.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining - watch for the cute creatures, December 9, 2006

By 

Classic Movie watcher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Failure to Launch (Full Screen Edition) (DVD)

A light and watchable romantic comedy as it should be. What's new is the parents' desire for the 35-year old son Tripp(Matthew Maconaughey)to leave home and be independent. And when he does, the parents can enjoy or dread their new found freedom.

What impresses me are the cameo appearances of a squirrel, a mocking bird, a lizard and lastly, the dolphins. The irony that those adorable sweet creatures can give one the shock in a lifetime is hillariously presented here. Zooey Deschanel as Kit is also a delightful and refreshing choice as a cool, slightly eccentric pal. They all make the otherwise formulaic romantic comedy interesting.

A happy ending with Tripp and Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) sailing on a wooden boat is truly to be envied.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Failure to Launch, March 15, 2006

By 

Michael Zuffa (Racine, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Trip (McConaughey) is a 35 year old that still lives with Mom (Bates) and Dad (Bradshaw). They do everything for him, and they are his ticket out of serious relationships. One day, Mom and Dad hire Paula (Parker), an "interventionist" who specializes in getting kids out of their parents homes. Her plan: get Trip to fall in love with her which will make him want to break away from his parents. Of course, things do not go smoothly and Paula finds herself falling in love. When Trip's friends find out what she does for a living, things get even worse for Paula.

"Failure to Launch" is a so-so movie. Fans of the romantic comedy will probably like the film, but there is nothing special about it. There is little chemistry between McConaughey and Parker, and the side stories are a bit too silly. The film has an uneven feel to it, almost as if the B-story was added just to pad the running time. There are some genuine laughs, but they are too few and far bewteen. This is for fans of romantic comedies only.