Summary
The recent popularity of the 2006 rom-comFailure to Launchhas stirred up some jarring recollections about Matthew McConaughey’s career, including an ongoing dry streak in film. For some, being privy toFailure to Launch’strending statusmeans remembering that McConaughey once fronted a string of poorly received romance movies in the 2000s, i.e.,The Wedding Planner(2001) andFool’s Gold(2008). Yet, for others, particularly those appreciative ofMcConaughey’s rom-com era,Failure to Launch’sunexpected resurgence is a weighty reminder of how long it’s been since the actor stepped into the leading man role for romance.
2009
28%
40%
$102,366,815
2008
11%
48%
$111,231,041
2006
23%
52%
$130,224,158
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
2003
42%
77%
$177,503,042
2001
17%
59%
$94,728,529
After 2009’sGhosts of Girlfriends Past,McConaughey left Hollywoodfor two years, citing the inability to secure roles outside the hunky love interest typecast as reasoning. Even thoughFailure to Launchfell short of impressing critics, divided audiences, and failed to fulfill the actor, the film’s ultimate $130 million box office haul and recent resurgence confirm it wasn’t all in vain. Whether a fan of McConaughey’s romance endeavors or not,Failure to Launchattests to the joy of watching McConaughey perform on screen in any genre and has become a reminder that it’s been a while since he has.
5 Roles Matthew McConaughey Would Have Lost If He Got Stuck In the Rom-Com Genre
Matthew McConaughey started his career in the rom-com genre, which could have prevented him from snagging some of his now iconic roles.
Failure to Launch (2006)
Unexpectedly,Failure to Launchbecame a hit on Netflix 18 years after its initial release. For the week of July 29 to August 4,Failure to Launchranked seventh on Netflix’s Global Top 10 with 4.8 million views and 7.8 million hours viewed. AlthoughFailure to Launchis a multi-million dollar entity, a record of negative reviews makes it easy to doubt its trending status. The film has met heavy criticism for years, whichRotten Tomatoessums up with a critical consensus reading:“The few comic gags sprinkled throughout the movie fail to spice up this formulaic rom-com.”
Failure to Launchmade $130 million worldwide off a $50 thousand budget.
The actor’s typecast history wasn’t groundless, as audiences love to see him as the love interest.
Failure to Launchmay have no"spice"to jazz up its run-of-the-mill story - which follows a 35-year-old bachelor, Tripp (McConaughey), who falls for the interventionist his parents hire in hopes of motivating him into moving out - but somethingtriggered it to trend. Easily, McConaughey’s performance is one of those reasons. The actor’s typecast history wasn’t groundless, asaudiences love to see him as the love interest. Coupled with the fact thatrom-coms are rarely developed nowadays, watching McConaughey in the lead of a nostalgic 2000s rom-com is hard to pass up, makingFailure to Launch’srewatch and streaming value high.
The Gentlemen Was McConaughey’s Last Live-Action Film
McConaughey’s role inFailure to Launchfeels even more enticing to stream, considering that the actor has not appeared in any live-action film in nearly five years. Unlike his Hollywood hiatus afterGhosts of Girlfriends Past, his break from live-action movies doesn’t appear to be a result of a lack of opportunity. In fact, since his last live-action role as Michael Pearson inthe cast of 2019’sThe Gentleman, McConaughey has featured in several projects, albeit in voice only. Instead of showing up onscreen,McConaughey’s endearing drawl has been leading his career recently.
McConaughey has been busy voice acting in the last five years in projects ranging from the Illumination shortCome Homeas Buster Moon to Sony Pictures Animation’s adult cartoon TV seriesAgent Elvisas Elvis Presley to thebox office record-breaking hitDeadpool & Wolverineas Cowboypool. McConaughey has previously voice-acted for characters like Buster Moon in theSing!franchise and Beetle in Universal’s animationKubo and the Two Strings, butit has never taken him from performing on screen for any longer than it has now. Luckily, McConaughey has a few upcoming projects that will end his five-year-long streak off-screen.
What Movies Matthew McConaughey Has Coming Up
Two Live-Action Films Are On McConaughey’s Horizon
McConaughey is only attached to a few upcoming projects, but they’ll give audiences a chance to see the actor on screen again.His upcoming projects include a leading role in Paul Greengrass' drama thrillerThe Lost Bus,which is currently in its post-production stage of development.The Lost Busdepicts California’s Camp Fire, the nation’s deadliest fire in a century, and features a cast comprising McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson, and Daniel McCarthy. Also in its post-production phase and soon to feature McConaughey in a leading role is Andrew Patterson’s forthcoming movie,The Rivals of Amziah King.
McConaughey is set to play the title character, Amziah King. The plot ofThe Rivals of Amziah Kingis being kept under wraps; however, the project is described as a character-focused crime thrillerset in Oklahoma and has a cast including Owen Teague, Kurt Russell, Cole Sprouse, and Catherine Dyer. On top of the forthcoming endeavors guaranteed to feature the actor in an on-screen role afterFailure to Launch’sstreaming success, McConaughey is also lending his talent toward the sci-fi RPG video gameExodusand is rumored to be taking part in the forthcoming action drama Western TV series,2024.
