Failure to Launch

Tripp, played by Matthew McConaughey, is a single man of thirty-five who wants for very little: he has a good job, a nice car, a love of sailing, plenty of dates, and a comfortable home. The catch is that the home belongs to his parents, Al and Sue, and he shows no sign of leaving it. His mother cooks and cleans for him, and he has grown used to the arrangement. When his parents hear that friends with a similar problem hired someone to help, they decide to bring in Paula, a professional who specializes in nudging grown children out of the family house. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Paula, whose approach involves more than practical advice, and whose presence in Tripp's life soon complicates the plan.

The film is a romantic comedy directed by Tom Dey, his third feature after Shanghai Noon and Showtime, and written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. The cast includes Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper and Terry Bradshaw. Produced for around 50 million dollars, it took in roughly 130 million worldwide, a solid return at the box office despite a critics' rating of 4.7 out of 10 from 150 reviews. Audiences were kinder: on IMDb it holds 5.7 from around 94,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.9 from roughly 1,900 votes.