By Emilia Benton

Why was “Sex and the City” labeled a “chick show?” Failure to Launch, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey, provides the missing pieces: a paintball war, videogames and a killer chipmunk.

McConaughey plays Tripp, a 35-year-old sailboat salesman who drives a Porsche and has no problem when it comes to attracting women. That is, until they discover his “secret”- he still lives with his parents.

Tripp and his friends (who alos live with their parents), Ace (Justin Bartha) and Demo (Bradley Cooper), enjoy discussing the advantages of never having to become real adults. The best part of the arrangement for Tripp is the ready-made exit strategy it provides him once a girl becomes too attached. All he needs to do is bring her home.

It appears at first that Tripp’s parents are content with this situation. Tripp’s mother (Kathy Bates) prepares him a pancake breakfast every day and does his laundry. But deep inside, she and his father (Terry Bradshaw) are more than ready for their son to leave the nest.

Tripp’s parents decide to secretly hire Paula (Parker), who’ll get Tripp to fall in love with her to lure him out of the house for good.

Paula is a specialist whose methods include a pretended interest in a man’s hobbies and an eventual fake breakdown where she clings to him for support.

Paula believes that Tripp will be an easy case. But before long she and Tripp click and she begins to feel guilty that she’s getting paid.

Aside from Tripp’s parents, she lacks any kind of support in this situation. Her roommate, Kit, (Zooey Deschanel) is consistently enraged with the chirping mockingbird that greets her every night outside of her window.

With her weapons-grade sarcasm, she turns a scene in which she resolves to shoot the bird into the funniest scene in the movie.

This is McConaughey’s best since How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, even though the two have virtually the same plot.

Parker and McConaughey in Failure to Launch.