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By
WADE GOSSETT
Perhaps it was way too much
to expect from a film with the word "Failure" in
its title. Or perhaps I'm being glib. But I like
Matthew McConaughey and I like romantic comedies,
and I think it's about time Hollywood tried to
recapture that old screwball charm.
McConaughey stars as a 35-year-old man who's still
living at home with mom and dad (Kathy Bates and
Terry Bradshaw) and is understandably completely
content -- mom picks up his laundry, cooks for
him, etc. But the most important aspect of
continuing to live as a teenager, is that it
offers an easy way of breaking up when a
girlfriend gets too close. However, his parents
are anxious to get him out on his own and hire an
"interventionist," played by Sarah Jessica Parker,
to help him along. As the interventionist, Parker
is to make him fall in love with her and then
manipulate his feelings to get him out of the
house.
Two questions arise: Why can't McConaughey commit?
And why in heaven's name is Parker working this
strange racket? Why, it's the old stand-by premise
of the traumatic experience from the past that
forces otherwise rational people to do irrational
things. Will newfound love fix both their brains?
If you think the film sounds good in theory, you
may find a few kernels of pleasure. But, if like
me, you think the premise is too stupid for words,
you won't change your mind when you see it
realized on screen. Sure, it's possible for great
actors and directors to transcend stupid premises,
but it's not only rare it didn't happen here.
Extras include a making-off featurette, a couple
more "The Failure to Launch Phenomenon" and
"Dating in the New Millennium" (this is a
phenomenon??), a contest and the theatrical
trailer |
