It's true; "Sahara" was just a fluke for Matthew McConaughey. He runs back to the films he's most at home in -- romantic comedies. Not that that's a problem; he is People's "Sexiest Man Alive" after all. It's the romantic leads that have the ladies fawning. His newest flick, Tom's Dey's "Failure to Launch," is in the same vein as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."
Trip (McConaughey) is a man in his 30s. He's successful, handsome, has a job and even has friends. You'd think he's the perfect catch. However, he has one little secret, one he dreads to tell his dates. Actually he never tells his dates, he takes them home to show them.
He still lives at home with his parents (played by Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw), who really would like him out, but Trip is content to stay. He gets pancakes every morning, his mother cleans his room, does his laundry, buys his groceries and even packs him snacks for the day. Why would he want to leave?
His parents hear about Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), a professional interventionist when it comes to getting sons out of their parents' homes.
She says men who still live at home when they are old enough to leave the nest suffer from low self-esteem resulting in a failure to launch (aka move out and have a separate life). What she offers is a surefire way to get that son out on his own with added confidence.
But Trip proves more of a challenge. He isn't that normal comic-reading, computer game playing, "Star Wars" loving man she's used to. True feelings of love start getting in the way, leading to complications in her mission.
Throw in a few friends on either side of the equation and there are bound to be problems that need fixing.
"Failure to Launch" is successful in the boy meets girl frame, but it goes beyond the overdone scheme to create a satisfying film.
For one, the wonderful casting ups the ante. Who knew that Parker and McConaughey would actually fit well together in that couple setting? Parker, who hasn't done much since the end of "Sex and the City," will always fit into that girly girl role, but her acting won't make anyone yearn for anything Carrie Bradshaw. McConaughey pulls off being that momma's boy with sex appeal and a brooding past nicely.
Football great Terry Bradshaw steps off the field -- or as of late, out of the FOX Sports television studio -- and into a fatherly role with ease. However, he also adds a bit of, shall we say, spice to the screen -- although you could be traumatized afterward.
"Failure to Launch" has all the right moments, crude humor, romance, nature scenes, family moments and so on. Awards season is over and, for the movie going crowd, it's about time for a bit more fun.
"Failure to Launch" is PG-13 and opens everywhere on Friday, March 10.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
