Weekly Review -- (Not so good) comedy week

Failure to Launch (2006) -- This languid romantic comedy is one of those cinematic curiosities that have all the pieces -- charming leads, quirky characters and an original premise -- yet these pieces somehow do not connect. Tom Dey's film is watchable and mildly entertaining, but fails to satisfy as a charismatic romantic comedy.


**POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**


Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) is a carefree and hard-working individual, who has a good job as a boat salesman, a sense of humor and taste for adventure. What is the trouble, you ask? It turns out that 35-year old Tripp still lives at home with his parents (Kathy Cates and Terry Bradshaw), who seem to be getting tired of his slacker ways, not to mention the numerous girls he regularly brings home. Enter Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose vocation is never made clear, but who is some kind of developmental psychologist, as it appears. She and Tripp start dating and things soon get serious. Will she make him finally fly the coop? McConaughey's Southern charm is perfect for his dandy character, while Parker's Paula is a distanced researcher unable to escape the loveable qualities of her subject. When the film deals with Paula and Tripp's relationship, as well as Tripp's relationship with his parents, things move at a smooth pace, injecting humor into romantic entanglements and family settings. The problems start with overdoses of wannabe slapstick humor, unnecessary additions to the script -- am I the only one who did not see the point of the mockingbird part? -- and ludicrous situations, like the whole shooting range episode. Also, I do not know why so many comedies try to spice things up with low-level humor; I guess some filmmakers think it sells. This part of the screenplay constantly hampers the above-mentioned good aspects of this movie, much to the detriment of the audience. Even the great character additions like Paula's kooky roommate Kit (Zooey Deschanel) and Tripp's prove-to-be-brilliant friend Ace (Justin Bartha) are stuck with quite a few lines with no merit. It is a pity, since the film would have been an appealing comedy without attempts at teen-geared humor. As it is, I would not necessarily recommend it, but it makes for good Saturday night viewing.

6/10