Failure to Launch (2006)

25% of critics liked it
(148 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(414,851 ratings)

A overgrown mama's boy who hasn't found the courage to take flight from the nest gets a little help from the girl of his dreams in the one comedy that proves it's never to late to strike out on your own. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) may have hit 30, but that doesn't mean that he's ready to give up… More A overgrown mama's boy who hasn't found the courage to take flight from the nest gets a little help from the girl of his dreams in the one comedy that proves it's never to late to strike out on your own. Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) may have hit 30, but that doesn't mean that he's ready to give up the many benefits of living at home with mom (Kathy Bates) and dad (Terry Bradshaw). His desperate parents have had enough, though, and after years of gentle nudging they soon realize that it's going to take a concerted effort to get Tripp out and enjoy their twilight years in peace. Realizing that their only hope for ridding themselves of their reluctant-to-leave offspring rides on the off-chance of his meeting the ideal female companion, mom and dad enlist the help of a beautiful and talented woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) in providing the romantic incentive needed to finally get their son out of the family home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Tom Dey
Written By: Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 10, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Jun 27, 2006
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The movie's notion of humor is exemplified by Bradshaw's extended nude scene.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
As listless and phony as Failure to Launch may be, it does have one secret weapon in Zooey Deschanel.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
How, exactly, did an idea with this much star power and comic potential manage to misfire?
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's completely unbelievable.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
This is a showcase for her [Parker's] sensitive intelligence, her watchfulness, and her way of thinking and reacting. The Family Stone did nothing for Parker, but Failure to Launch makes a strong case for life after Sex and the City.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Apart from its name (easily the front-runner for worst of the year), Failure to Launch represents a failure in every way: of ideas, of inspiration, of casting.
Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
It's not funny. It is occasionally witty, but not very often. It seems the filmmakers realized that as well as they fill the frequent dry spells with physical comedy that doesn't really fit the tone of the movie.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
A limp romantic comedy, this cut-and-paste bookend to last year's "Hitch" finds Sarah Jessica Parker playing Paula a demoralized romantic turned "professional interventionist."
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Formulaic romantic comedy about a stuck-in-adolescence man.
Kam Williams, Beachcomber
A wacky, well-crafted romantic comedy which unfolds like a cross between Hitch and Meet the Parents.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Failure to Launch? The same can be said for the movie.
Kam Williams, BlackFilm.com
Zooey Deschanel steals so many scenes as Paula's anti-social roommate that she deserves to share top billing alongside McConaughey and Parker.
David Noh, Film Journal International
You can positively smell the filmmakers' misguidedly intent resolution to turn this flick into something that will appeal to 12-year-old boys as well as its targeted chicks.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
It's everything wrong with bad romantic comedies, all rolled into one easy-to-hate package.
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review
A romantic comedy in the true sense of the word, "Failure to Launch" is the first certified "date film" of the year.
Peter T. Chattaway, Christianity Today
The multiple contrivances and the inevitable grinding of the storytelling gears will have you itching to go home -- whether you happen to live with your parents or not.
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
i just hated every single character soooo much
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...an amiable and entertaining (albeit entirely forgettable) piece of work.

Read all 18 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Film C

It gets three stars purely for Zooey Deschanel and that bloody bird! Deschanel is quirky and funny in this Funnyish movie!
Jeff "

Failure to Launch is yet another romantic comedy that relies far too much on the usual clichés you'd expect from the countless romantic comedies out there. Everything you'd expect from a romantic comedy is present, and that's not a good thing. Failure to Launch is a… More
Failure to Launch is yet another romantic comedy that relies far too much on the usual clichés you'd expect from the countless romantic comedies out there. Everything you'd expect from a romantic comedy is present, and that's not a good thing. Failure to Launch is a mess from start to finish. There are a few mildly funny parts, but the film has so many things wrong with it, that it overshadows the promising elements for this film. The film wasn't my cup of tea, and overall it was a poorly constructed film. Matthew McConaughey I find him to be very misplaced in these types of films, he just ruins his career with films like this. This film was awful, bland, and unimpressive. The Writing limitations show on-screen. The film really ends up being a silly affair after a while, and it becomes pretty annoying. This film had the potential in being a good film; instead director Tom Dey crafts a film that misses the mark in every respect. The lead actors are terrible here, and I don't recommend this film. If you're looking for a good comedy film, you won't find it with Failure to Launch. This is a complete misfire of a film, a film that could have been good, but suffers from a bad director and bad script. With that in mind, you can expect something very bad with this film. Failure to Launch is just like every other rom-coms, clichéd, predictable, silly and most of all, an unfunny, strained film that will bore the viewer.
Cassie H

Great movie. Somehow Matthew McConaughey always seems to play the weird put funny parts. "Your naked" "this is my naked room". Terry Bradshaw was also hillarious in his naked room scene. Just a great movie! Sarah Jessica Parker & the rest of the cast were… More
Great movie. Somehow Matthew McConaughey always seems to play the weird put funny parts. "Your naked" "this is my naked room". Terry Bradshaw was also hillarious in his naked room scene. Just a great movie! Sarah Jessica Parker & the rest of the cast were amazing too and who could forget about the mocking bird that drove Kit crazy :) :) :)
Bethany M

The best film I've seen Sarah Jessica Parker in apart from 'Footloose.' Quite funny and the plot of the film was well written.
Dead A

Ah the ending... always the same. I don't really like Sarah Jessica. I liked Zooey's character. Something I'd want to be most of the time. p.s: naked room? seriously?
Lady D

Now that's my kind of girl! I like the rule part of Sarah Jessica Parker's job here, made it a little more interesting as a Rom-Com, in other ways it was very much typical of the genre, but it was entertaining and enjoyable
Lenny M

Don't really like MM nor SJP, decent supporting cast which helps the movie from tanking, except for that Zooey woman, worse than a BB to the sack, maybe not that bad. Terry Bradshaw acts? Yep, he's porkin' Kathy Bates, what a intro to the film bidness!
Tim S

Hollywood just keeps pumping out these really awful romantic comedies, don't they?
Anthony L

Painful viewing! It?s the worse than the usual boy meets girl - they fall in love - they split - they get back together. Sprinkled with poor attempts at comedy it trips over the usual cliques like when he gets bitten by various animals & throws food at someone in a restaurant by… More
Painful viewing! It?s the worse than the usual boy meets girl - they fall in love - they split - they get back together. Sprinkled with poor attempts at comedy it trips over the usual cliques like when he gets bitten by various animals & throws food at someone in a restaurant by mistake etc. It?s not funny or convincing, everything about it is lazy. Failure to laugh!!
Derek A

Surprisingly, this film isn't that bad for a chick flick. If you're forced to watch something with your girlfriend, this isn't too bad. Matthew McConaughey is fairly stereotypical McConaughey here in these roles (I prefer him in more serious roles like Two… More
Surprisingly, this film isn't that bad for a chick flick. If you're forced to watch something with your girlfriend, this isn't too bad. Matthew McConaughey is fairly stereotypical McConaughey here in these roles (I prefer him in more serious roles like Two for the Money). Oddly enough I didn't think Sarah Jessica Parker was THAT annoying here. But this film's saving grace was Zooey Deschanel. Absolutely stunning and vibrant with a fantastic, quick-witted sense of humor. Without her, this crapfest stinks. She steals the show.... Failure to Launch has a wickedly ludicrous plot, and a serious lack of chemistry between the two leads. But it relies on its charm and sense of humor, and mildly succeeds in entertaining. Major points for the paintball scene as well. Not bad... don't go out of your way. But it's better than some of the other fluff out there.
Candy R

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) has never left home. He only brings girls back to meet his parents when he wants to get dumped. His parents hire a girl (SJP) to get him to fall in love and move out. Matthew is very funny in this movie.
Flutie A

I seriously bust out laughing at the part where he says "Dude, there's something wrong with your mom..." If you liked Riley in National Treasure, Justin Bartha steals a few scenes in this one.... If you like "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days", I'm… More
I seriously bust out laughing at the part where he says "Dude, there's something wrong with your mom..." If you liked Riley in National Treasure, Justin Bartha steals a few scenes in this one.... If you like "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days", I'm pretty sure you're guaranteed to like this.
Leigh R

It was cute and worth another viewing.
Red L

I enjoyed this movie. Reminds me of Hitch, except the other way around. Sarah Jessica Parker is hired to convince Matthew McConaughey to leave his parents' nest. You figure out how it ends.
Bobby H

Comedy / Chick-Flick put together, with an actual meaning behind it as well. Not to many movies that do both, well, but this movie did it.
Rachel F

This was a good movie. I watched on a really long plane ride and it made it tolerable. Plus it has Matthew McConaughey.
Roy G

Failure to Launch stumbles its way to a happy ending without generating either much romance or comedy.
Dean M

Liked the character of Sarah's flatmate who wanna kill a mockingbird that drives her crazy.
Sanjaya &

Fresh. Enjoyable. Funny. Laughtout. One of Comedy of the year!!!
Morgan S

not my type of movie