Failure to lunch

Looking for a fun romantic comedy this weekend? You may be tempted to see Failure to Launch, but... eh. In a sneak preview last week, I found myself longing for the competitive dynamic of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (which I didn't care for).

The problem with the movie can be summed up in three words: Sarah Jessica Parker. It's like an okay movie was derailed once they cast her as the female lead. Her character, kind of a variant of Will Smith in Hitch, makes no sense. She's ill-defined and has no chemistry with any of her castmates. How did she become this person? Why does she live with Zooey Deschanel? How can we tell if she's really into Matthew McConaughey? Oh, and should I care?

I was able to answer the last question. It might have concerned me that the former SanDeE* has let herself waste away with a repeated failure to lunch, but this is a person who identifies with her past role of the useless Carrie Bradshaw. Now my dislike for SJP is so strong that I find myself liking Ferris Bueller's Day Off a little less because Matthew Broderick grew up to drink the Kool-Aid.

If you're dead set on seeing a romantic comedy, see if you can find Something New, a sneak preview of which I caught last month. I found myself in a setting that encouraged audience participation, and was amused that the largely black audience rooted for the working class white man (Simon Baker) to get the career minded black woman (Sanaa Lathan). Predictable but entertaining.

Hmm, I'd forgotten how much I liked her. I may have to revise my generally negative opinion of leading ladies under 35, or maybe restrict my criticism to Caucasian starlets.