Most 35-year-old men who still live with their parents would probably not boast about it, but Tripp -- played by Matthew McConaughey in Failure To Launch -- does just that. He’s known as an adultescent, a term describing men who don’t leave the nest. Not surprisingly, Tripp’s two pals also still live at home.   

Tripp makes no apologies about his situation. He loves his set up. Mom (Kathy Bates) does his laundry, keeps his room spotless, makes him great meals and still sends him off to work with a lunch. Living at home fits very well into Tripp’s plan. When a woman gets too close or gives him “the look,” he takes her home. His latest date is nestled sweetly in his arms in his bed when dad (Terry Bradshaw) suddenly burst into the room. “You live with your parents,” comes the outburst as the date dresses and leaves the house.

Tripp’s parents take him furniture shopping where he meets a lovely young woman. Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) reels Tripp in with her charm, which is exactly what she’s supposed to do. Al and Sue, Tripp’s parents, have hired Paula, a professional that promises to get sons over their “failure to launch” syndrome and move out of their parents’ homes. She guarantees Al and Sue that she can get Tripp to, “simulate a romantic bond with me, and want to move out.”

Although Al and Sue love Tripp, they’re envious of their friends’ free rein in their homes. Al wants Tripp’s room as his “naked room” where he can roam around unclothed. Truthfully, Sue doesn’t seem upset at having her son at home. She seems to thrive on fixing him the perfect breakfast every morning and stacking neatly folded clothes on his bed. This is only one of the flaws in this often slow-moving film.

Tripp and Paula are each thrilled when they start dating. He thinks another one has bit the dust. On outings with the guys, they agree Paula is a catch but warn Tripp she might be “the one.” Actually Tripp harbors a secret that keeps any woman from being the right one at this time of his life.

Paula looks at Tripp as another paycheck and takes a lot of flack from her roommate Kit (Zooey Deschanel), a realist who warns Paula that lying to people to make a living is not good.

Tripp is not above a little white lie as well. He takes Paula for lunch on his large sailing yacht anchored in its berth, only to suddenly throw all their food in the water, grab her arm and stand at attention as the owner comes aboard. Paula catches on when Tripp goes into his sales broker mode, and pretends to be a customer, which endears Tripp to her even more.

Paula is soon over her head when she realizes she really likes Tripp. The day he sees “the look” in her eyes, he takes her home. Of course she already knows he lives with his parents but she pretends to be only mildly surprised and then embraces the idea, which throws Tripp entirely off his game plan. The rest of the movie focuses on how Paula and Tripp refuse to admit their real feelings and have to duke it out emotionally.

The film’s story isn’t deep. In fact, there are several threads that seem just thrown in -- such as scenes showing Tripp swimming with dolphins or being constantly bitten by bugs and reptiles. One also wonders why Tripp never asks Paula what she does for a living.

Failure to Launch isn’t terrific, but the cast makes it somewhat entertaining. This is not one of McConaughey’s best films. Instead of an interesting character arc, director Tom Dey fills the screen with lots of close-ups of People magazine’s “sexist man alive.”

Parker, who could have been better in the comedy angle, beams as the determined woman who thinks she has a map to her future only to find herself on a challenging detour. Bates is always good. Like a chameleon, she has the knack of fitting believably into any role. Bradshaw steals a lot of the laughs here as the energetic father who’s retired and happy to let his wife run the show.

Zooey Deschannel, the real reason to see this movie, comes across as atypical but extremely likable. With her poker-faced stares, her great “words of wisdom,” and her dilemma over a mocking bird that controls her life, she’s absolutely hilarious.

Despite its faults, Failure to Launch is probably a safe bet for those who like romantic comedies.

(Released by Paramount Pictures and rated “PG-13” for sexual content, partial nudity and language.)

Read Diana Saenger’s reviews of classic films at http://classicfilm.about.com.