A stupid premise—Matthew McConaughey’s
parents hire Sarah Jessica Parker to date him so he’ll move out of the
house—dooms this in the romance department, and most of the comic moments come
from the supporting cast.
The title of this Matthew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker
romantic comedy is ready made for critics, but I think the name of
McConaughey’s character, Tripp, is more descriptive, since it starts out okay
but stumbles. Admittedly, the premise is very stupid. Tripp, 35, still lives
with his parents (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw), which provides him with both
meal and laundry service and a way to scare off women when they get too
serious. The movie’s amusing conceit is that men like Tripp, and their parents,
form a whole subculture of learned helplessness. The parents are helpless too,
unable to kick their grown sons out. And so, apparently, they must turn to
women like Parker’s character, whose job is to date the aging homebodies until
they leave on their own. Who knew that the key to becoming independent was to
fall in love and then get dumped for the next client? I went home and thanked
my dad for not hiring someone to be my girlfriend when I moved back home a few
years ago.
So anyway, just like in McConaughey’s prior romantic comedy, How
to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, his relationship with the woman is based on
deception. No prizes for guessing what happens. With a setup like this, a movie
can never hope to be a great romance, and Launch is only a little better
as a comedy. The scenes between the two leads are a snooze. The best parts are
those with the parents (including Bradshaw’s notable nude scene) and,
especially, Zooey Deschanel as Parker’s peevish roommate. McConaughey’s easy
charm should make him a natural for a romantic comedy, if only he can find the
right script. (Here’s a hint: it won’t end with the other characters in the
movie cheering the happy couple; if the story is good, the audience will do
it…although that can be annoying too.)
posted 9/9/13
No comments:
Post a Comment