Failure To Launch

Failure To Launch is a romantic comedy that explores the issues of the so called "boomerang generation." With our prolonged adolescence, high housing costs and high college costs, many twenty somethings return to the safety of their parent's homes, to stay for good. This creates new societal pressures for families.

In this movie, Matthew McConaughey plays such a grown up kid, except he's thirty-five, and drives a Porsche. His mom, played by Cathy Bates, and dad come up with a fool proof plan to push him out of the nest. They hire a specialist, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, whose role is to build his self esteem up so he can move out. Initially, the whole thing is expertly staged, and very professional.

This seemingly simple plan creates the drama of the film. While the pair easily falls for each other, they both get in deeper than they originally planned. Both her roommate, and his friends add to the excitement. Before long, we're not sure if they should be together, or apart. An intriguing lockdown at the end, viewed over many remote webcams, resolves the conflict in a high tech way.

Failure To Launch is a timely film that focuses on this recent societal drama. It will appeal to both twenty year olds, and their parents.

Overall Grade: B+

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