Failure to Launch came out in 2006 and was a another hit for Matthew McConaughey making 88 million domestically. The film also stars Sarah Jessica Parker who was riding high off the hit show Sex and the City which had ended a few years before the film came out. The film also stars Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, and Bradley Cooper.

I enjoyed Failure to Launch. I thought it was a good movie. I had seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days years ago and I enjoyed that movie. I thought this was a good romcom for Matthew McConaughey and I thought he and Sarah Jessica Parker had good chemistry. The basic plot of the movie is about Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) who is 35 years old and still lives with his parents. They hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) to help get him out of their house. As usual in romcoms and Hallmark Movies, sparks fly and they start to fall for each other. Both actors have proven experience in romantic comedies and this film does not disappoint. It shows their strengths. I also found the plot relatable. A lot of people over the age of 30 still live at home for various reasons. It is usually not by choice whereas in the movie it seemed Tripp was financially secure enough to move out. He just got comfortable and did not want to. Also, Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper play Tripp’s friends who also live at home.  Sometimes in romantic comedies, people complain about the plots not being very realistic or pure fiction. Movies are supposed to be fiction to begin with but for the genre, this plot is a little more realistic. I enjoy romantic comedies and it does not bother me if plots are realistic or completely out of the realm of plausibility. I enjoy movies and television for the stories and for the escape. When I watch romantic comedies, I usually watch for characters and the chemistry and for the plot, but the plot is not the most important thing to me. Also, I want to escape when I watch a romantic comedy. If it is completely set in the real world, that has an increased percentage of being depressing. Romantic Comedies are supposed to be filled with hope, not realism. This is just my opinion on the genre. I also like other genres as well. The main thing with romantic comedies is to be able to root for the characters falling in love and believing in love even if it’s only for an hour and a half or however long the movie is.

The rest of the cast does a good job. I am used to seeing Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day in the television show New Girl. Seeing her as a different character who is very different than Jessica Day was a bit of a surprise. It also shows the range she has as well. I have seen a few things Zooey Deschanel has been in and I am starting to think that New Girl was an opportunity for her to show a different side of her acting ability. Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper did a good job as Tripp’s friends as well. I also thought it was interesting that Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper were in this together since a few years later they would go onto costar in The Hangover. I did not know that they worked together prior to doing The Hangover trilogy. I liked seeing their characters have distinctive personalities. They were not just simply the “friends” or carbon copies of each other. It is not always done in these types of films but there are times when the friends of the main characters are not distinctive enough partly since they are not the main focus of the story.

To a degree Failure to Launch feels like a plot for a Hallmark Movie and that is not an insult. I enjoy Hallmark Movies even if they use the same plots and actors for the most part especially when it comes to their Christmas roster. The only real difference is content since Failure to Launch is a little more mature than Hallmark that is fairly family friendly. Failure to Launch is a fun movie that has two actors who have found success in the genre. Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker carry the film well and are helped by a strong supporting cast. It also has a more relatable plot, which if it were a Hallmark Movie, it would be one that has the most realism in a Hallmark movie.