Reviewing the Reviews: 'Failure to Launch'

The headlines for today's reviews of Failure to Launch generally failed to impress. The title of the romantic comedy is just asking for trouble, as you'll see below, yet few reviews did more than observe the obvious ironies. When even NBC's Gene Shalit delivers a largely pun-free review, as he did this morning on Today, something is very wrong. Maybe Matthew McConaughey's character, whose parents enlist Sarah Jessica Parker to entice him to move out of their house, simply cast a pall of slack on everyone who saw the film.

Headlines the studio should have seen coming
Toronto Globe and Mail: A movie that lives down to its title
Philadelphia Inquirer: Truest-title award? 'Failure to Launch'
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Unfortunately true to its title, movie can't get off the ground
Santa Barbara Sun: This movie's a 'Failure' in more ways than one
USA Today: 'Failure to Launch' sums it up

How, exactly, does it fail?
New York Daily News: 'Failure' to laugh
San Jose Mercury News: 'Failure' to amuse
Orange County Register: 'Failure' to find a believable plot
Edmonton Sun: Failed chemistry
Toronto Sun: Failure to excite
Charlotte Observer: This 'Failure' fails miserably

Is this a film about rockets?
Chicago Tribune: Scrub this 'Launch'
Detroit Free Press: Comedy barely gets off ground
Lafayette (Ind.) Journal and Courier: 'Launch' just fizzles
Orlando Sentinel: 'Launch' fires up romantic-comedy rockets
Deseret (Utah) Morning News: Failed jokes put 'Launch' in a wobbly trajectory

Or about yachts?
Washington Post: 'Failure to Launch' Floats Many a Boat
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Little wind in the sails of 'Failure to Launch'

At least we tried something different
Columbus Dispatch: Parent trap
New York Post: Baby Got Slack
Bradenton (Fla.) Herald: Losing your 'Launch'
New York Times: Visitors From the Planet of Romantic Comedy