What is Catch and Release really trying to say? Honestly, there are so many storylines going on here it is really hard to key on one thing and considering it is supposed to be a romantic-comedy this is not a good thing. Typically those are easy to figure out, and starting the film off finding out that our lead character just lost her fiance days before her wedding isn’t the best way to go. Especially when we quickly find out there were a few serious skeletons hidden in his closet.
Catch and Release stars Jennifer Garner as Gray and, as I just said, she has just suffered the sudden loss of her fiance, Grady. Secrets begin to bubble to the surface as to who Grady really was and no, it isn’t secret CIA type of stuff, but it is stuff that people getting married should already know. Trying to cope with the loss she must rely on her close friends Sam (Kevin Smith) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger) as she has now lost the house she was going to purchase with her fiance and is forced to move in with her buds. Also thrown into the mix is Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), Grady’s childhood best bud and Hollywood playboy who has come into town for the funeral and seems intent on overstaying his welcome. However, this is where the story finds its arc as Gray and Fritz become closer and secrets throughout the bunch begin to be revealed.
There really is no secret to the storytelling of Catch and Release, but the stupid title leads a lot to be desired, and so does the film for that matter. If it wasn’t for a surprisingly funny scene at a dinner table midway through the film this picture might have actually earned itself an “F”. Kevin Smith is along for the token laughs, I am not sure if females are going to spark to Olyphant’s unique looks and demeanor and the relationship between Gray and Fritz is almost laughable especially considering he was her fiance’s best friend and Grady just died. How much of a chance does any relationship have in that instance?
The really sour beat in the picture is a branching storyline involving the Dennis character, it is far from necessary and just adds one more complication to a picture that has far too many to begin with.
Writer-director Susannah Grant had a lot of success with her screenplay for the Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich, which makes Catch and Release look like made-for-TV trash. Perhaps she should stick to true story based themes and Jennifer Garner should probably stick to action pieces. While she played the girl-next-door and tomboy role quite well I just don’t think she is all that believable as a rom-com lead, and for that matter Catch and Release is hardly a romantic comedy. The comedic moments are more slapstick than anything else and the romance is soured by the fact that someone had to die to make all of this possible, that coupled with the numerous cliche moments this script brings with it.
Early year releases are usually up to this caliber and Catch and Release might make a few bucks at the box, but for what its worth this one will be quickly forgotten.
