47
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60VarietyBrian LowryVarietyBrian LowryAn especially slight romantic comedy whose modest charms are derived largely from its supporting players.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenThe movie has only the most tenuous connection with reality. But the same could be said of classic 30's screwball comedies in which the treacherous feints and ploys of the mating game are transmuted into witty, romantically charged repartee.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttMcConaughey and Parker get stranded with thanklessly predictable scenes, while Zooey Deschanel, Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw garner the film's few laughs.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceFailure to Launch has all the gravitas of a midseason-replacement sitcom.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumIf you like Kathy Bates movies, you'll probably be frustrated with this one, since as Tripp's mother, the invaluable character actress is made to whipsaw between playing sappy domestic slave to her son's laundry and salty, overly sexual wife.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliFailure to Launch fails at more than just launching. It fails at romance and comedy.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarrit IngmanAustin ChronicleMarrit IngmanDeschanel, as the token oddball of the gang, runs off with the movie.
- 42The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe only bright spot--beyond McConaughey's boyish Southern charm and a pleasant soundtrack--is Zooey Deschanel as Parker's acid-tongued roommate, whose quirks include alcoholism and nihilism. Someone really should tell Deschanel that she's already too big and too good for thankless Eve Arden roles.
- 40L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasEven by the low standards of high-concept Hollywood rom-coms, this charmless, prophetically titled stinker stands apart, suggesting that the recent mass firings at studio Paramount may not have been such a bad idea after all.
- 33Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerParker is bland throughout. Maybe all those episodes of "Sex and the City" have soured her on this sort of thing.