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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Failure To Launch

    Featured In Issue 121, June 2007

    Picture3.5
    Sound2.5
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Paramount Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    790165
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG13
    (Rating Reason):
    For sexual content, partial nudity, and language
    (Retail Price):
    $29.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    Yes
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    96
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    2006
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    04/24/07
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Tom Dey
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
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    (Re-Recording Mixers):
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    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
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    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
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    At 35, Tripp (McConaughey) knows how to schmooze with the ladies. But when they give him "the eye" of seriousness, he takes them home where he lives...with his parents. His Failure To Launch has caused his parents to hire some help in the form of Paula (Parker) who will act as his girlfriend and get him to move out. Of course, the tried and true story of hired love becomes real love, truths are told no matter the consequence, and betrayals result in crushed feelings that ultimately reveal whether or not the relationship can survive. (Suzanne Hodges)

    Special features are exactly the same as those found on the DVD reviewed in Issue 111 and include a 12-minute Casting Off featurette, a 12-minute Failure To Launch Phenomenon, a seven-minute look at Dating In A New Millennium, a 14-minute MoviePhone.com Unscripted with actors Matthew McConnaughey and Terry Bradshaw, a six-minute introduction to Paramount/myspace,com contest entries (including two young 20-something bachelors living with mom and one infantile 29 year old who needs her own place), the theatrical trailer, previews, and up-front ads.

    The VC-1-encoded HD DVD and the MPEG-2-encoded Blu-ray Disc have a picture that is complimentary to the storytelling, with bold and varied colors, and fleshtones generally look natural. Details can be slightly soft at times, with fine textures, such as facial hair stubble, not fully defined. Differences between the two version are not easily noticeable. (Danny Richelieu)

    The HD DVD's Dolby® Digital Plus and the Blu-ray Disc's Dolby Digital 5.1-channel encodings sound pretty much the same—thin and bright without much articulation. Dialogue integration is hit or miss, as there are times when the dialogue is too obviously ADR-produced. Differences between the two versions are not immediately recognizable, but the HD DVD does have a slight improvement in the naturalness of the dialogue. (Danny Richelieu)

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