By Dan Dunn
Special to the Daily Press

The movie: Failure to Launch
The director: Tom Dey
The stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw

American moviegoers generally don’t expect much out of the average romantic comedy: An allegedly mismatched couple who are obviously perfect for each other spend most of the film grappling with relationship issues everyone knows will eventually be resolved. There’s gonna be a few kooky friends, a montage or two, and somewhere around the 90-minute mark the director will cue sappy music (something by Counting Crows or Aimee Mann) then push in for a close-up of the Big Kiss. Roll credits (with bloopers!)
What separates good rom-coms from bad ones are the Three C’s: Chemistry, Comedy, Credibility. “Failure to Launch” — a title that may very well portend the film’s fate at the box office — has only one “C” going for it, courtesy of charismatic stars Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. While the comely couple certainly give it their all, the end result is an unsatisfying mess that reminds us that sometimes, in movies as in love, your best just ain’t good enough.

McConaughey is way in his element as Tripp, a fun-loving 35-year-old boat salesman with a serious Peter Pan complex. Tripp and best buddies Ace (Justin Bartha) and Demo (Bradley Cooper of “Wedding Crashers”) are part of a subculture of 30-something dudes who still live with their parents — a phenomenon we’re to believe is so widespread it spawned a unique cottage industry. Enter the irresistible Paula (Parker), a professional consultant who’s been hired by Tripp’s long-suffering folks (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw, the most appealing characters in the movie) to pretend to fall for Tripp in order to extricate him from the nest — the dumb idea being that love of a woman will trump his love of mom’s home cooking. Apparently, it’d be too much to just ask the guy to move out!

Hard as it is to get past the ludicrous premise, it’s damn near impossible to see Paula and the ’rents as anything other than what they are – a paid escort and the lying liars who hired her. Dey and scribes Tom Astle and Matt Ember throw in some lame contrivances at film’s end designed to plug gaping holes in reason and absolve the guilty parties of their ethical malfeasance. It’s too little, too late for “Failure to Launch,” a film that never really gets off the ground.

(Rated PG-13. Running time: 97 minutes)