When I was 30 years old, my mother offered me the opportunity to move to Chicago and live with her. As tempted as I was, I knew that if I did, she would never get me out of the house again! In "Failure to Launch," Trip (McConoughey) goes me one better. He's NEVER left. And why should he? His mother (Bates) dotes on him. She cleans his room, does his laundry and, while his father (Bradshaw) is eating oatmeal, Trip gets eggs, pancakes and all the fixings. When the folks learn from one of their friends that there is a service that guarantees to make the chick fly the nest, they jump at the chance. Enter Paula (Parker), who helps those who are still at home overcome their "failure to launch." She arranges a cute meeting and a couple of dates, but slowly realizes she's in over her head as she begins to fall for Trip. But is the feeling mutual?

A well-crafted story, "Failure to Launch" is helped along by the wining performance of McConoughey. As in last year's "Sahara," he comes across as a guy you'd like to pal around with. Parker is very convincing as the "facilitator," who must fight her own feelings in order to finish the job. The supporting cast is just as well-rounded. Bates and Bradshaw are very funny as the parents and Deschanel ("Almost Famous" and "Elf") stands out as Paula's roommate with her own problems. A hilarious sub-plot about an annoying mockingbird gives Deschanel some great scenes, including one where she thinks "To Kill A Mockingbird" is a "how-to" guide.

If I have one complaint about the film it is that, for the first time, Parker shows her age on screen. She's still beautiful but she's not 25 anymore. I hope that in the future she follows Diane Lane's career path. Speaking of 25, it's been 25 years since Bradshaw last appeared on screen in the Burt Reynolds film "Cannonball Run." He seems to have used that time away from the screen to develop into quite a funny guy. However, be warned, some of that fun includes not one, not two but three shots of Bradshaw's bare backside. Three shots too many!

A romantic comedy in the true sense of the word, "Failure to Launch" is the first certified "date film" of the year. On a scale of zero to four stars I give "Failure to Launch"