In the midst of a month where there is about 1 good film per every 75 million Brokeback Mountain jokes, director Tom Dey (who has proven his comedic chops with Shanghai Noon) offers up another comedy this time aimed at a female audience. The rom-com stars Matthew McCounahey who turns in a performances almost good enough to erase the dreadful memories of How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Tripp (McCounahey) is a thirtysomething content in his life. He has plenty of friends, a good job he loves brokering high end sailboats, to say nothing of his beloved Porshe. With his rakish good looks and sports car, he floats from girl to girl, often breaking up with them when he takes them home. The trouble is he still lives with his parents and the girls just can't take Mom and Dad walking in on them just as they're getting freaky. Mom and Dad are played by 1990 Oscar winner Kathy Bates and 1989 NFL hall of fame inductee Terry Bradshaw. The fact that they still have a son this old and this inclined to parade his active sex life just beneath their nose is something of an embarrassment to the folks - and in an effort to hasten his launch from the moorings of home, they devise a plan. It involves hiring Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker). A girl specializing in befriending men and arousing their natural instincts to leave the nest, mate and well . . . you know the Darwinistic drill.

McCounahey (the quintessential cocksure slacker) takes a surprisingly original tack for his Tripp. His initial dates with Paula include sailing, a paintball war - the sort of thing that catches a pro like Paula off-guard and causes her to let down her deeply entrenched defenses. Soon things become more than a bit sticky for Paula - not only does she break her most time-honored rule of engagement (sleeping with the subject) but she also begins to develop feelings for Tripp, For his part, Tripp is blown away to by the fact that she has passed his tests. Further drama ensues when Tripp's friends discover the true nature of Paula's business - one of them even blackmailing her into setting up a date with her roommate Kit (Zooey Deschanel).

There is actually a better romantic chemistry in this new love connection than there is between Tripp and Paula (their lack of a real spark is film's biggest failure to launch) but the film survives this due to a lot of solid work from their goofy friends. Zooey Deschanel routinely steals the films she appears in and her newfound relationship with Justin Bartha (whom you may remember as Nicolas Cage's likable sidekick in National Treasure) steals the romantic zip right out from under the bigger name leads. Failure To Launch comes complete with a wide array of odd diversions - Deschanel and Bartha purchase a BB Gun for the purpose of a mockingbird hunt. This kind of cheap humor also finds its way to McCounahey who is attacked by both a squirrel and a lizard. Interpreted by his friend Demo as a result of being fundamentally out of step with the natural world.

The film ends in typical fashion as Tripp discovers the nature of the scheme and rebels - which leaves the reader to ponder, will Tripp take the hint and find a place of his own? Will Paula come to terms with her feelings and attempt a repentant reconciliation, and will either actor ever learn how to choose better scripts? In the mean time Failure To Launch will have to do, The supporting cast steps up when needed to keep the show on the road and Kathy Bates gets in a few nice bittersweet touches in before it's all said and done. Though their attempts at shooting up the romantic fireworks mostly fizzle out they are adept at sharing the screen and the laughs balance well enough in the end.