Dedication

Actor Justin Theroux makes an auspicious directorial debut with a disarmingly funny romantic comedy full of emotional life and witty filmic textures. Henry Roth (Bill Crudup) is a children’s book writer whose illustrator and collaborator Rudy (Tom Wilkinson) is about the only person in the world patient enough to tolerate Henry’s nervous tics and angry outbursts. Rudy’s death forces Henry to attempt working with a publisher-assigned collaborator in the guise of Lucy Riley (Mandy Moore). Once Henry stops insulting Lucy long enough to apologize, he realizes the flame burning between them but battles with his grip on reality—he’s scared of driving and superstitious about everything. Billy Crudup makes us root for his confused character, and Mandy Moore is convincing and funny as the best that thing ever happened to Henry. The are no special features. Aspect ratio is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with sound quality delivered via Dolby Digital 5.1. (Movie – Three Stars, DVD features – No Stars) Rated R, 93 mins. (Weinstein Company)

Failure To Launch

A limp romantic comedy, this cut-and-paste bookend to last year’s "Hitch" finds Sarah Jessica Parker playing Paula a demoralized romantic turned "professional interventionist." Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) is a 35-year-old live-at-home bachelor whose parents (Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates) hire Paula to seduce and lure Tripp away from the nest. Screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember toss in a dose of screwball animal antics to spice up the otherwise mechanical proceedings. Zooey Deschanel spices up the movie in her well-worn trademark role as post-modern cynical "it" girl. Special features include two making-of featurettes, a contest featurette, an interview with Matthew McConcaughey and Terry Bradshaw, and the theatrical trailer. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1, with sound quality processed in Dolby Digital 5.1. (Movie – Two Stars, DVD features – One Star) Rated PG-13, 97 mins. (Paramount)