Catch and Release (2007)

Okay, most of the time a film tries to be part comedy, part drama and part buddy picture, what it ends up being is a total wreck! Catch and Release beats the odds by being all the above while avoiding total wreck status. It's that rarest of things, a film that reveals you don't have to be married or be blood to grieve for somone you love and how many emotions grieving can reveal... including humor.

There is that chick-flick quality that will have guys begging off, but fortunately for me Kevin Smith acting in a film he didn't direct was enough to convince me to go. The man can actually act, and not just in his own films. Unlike other films where a nonactor tries to step up, Kevin Smith was not a blank space on the screen. He held his own and then some. There's even a certain degree of self parody of his profound-statement-delivering Silent Bob charater.

Moving on from Kevin, everyone else also did an excellent job. Jennifer Garner (Alias), Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood), Julliette Lewis, Sam Jaeger, Fiona Shaw and everyone else turned in strong performances as people trying to come to terms with the grief of losing a best friend, a fiancee, a provider and a son.

I found myself laughing at the horrible yet comic realism.

From what I understand this is Susannah Grants major motion picture directorial debut, but it didn't feel like it. Already an extremely well proven screen writer, this may be Susannah's first movie directing job, but with this many laughs and this much emotion, I know it won't be her last.

Gray (Jennifer Garner) thought that she and her fiance Grady would be getting married this weekend, but instead she's attending his funeral. Already destroyed at the loss of what could have been, she's devastated to learn that Grady had a secret life that he kept from her including a million dollar estate and a toddler love child. When the mother of said child comes looking for Grady, she must confront the past in order to have a future. Juliette Lewis gives her all as the slightly trampy quasi-Earth mother.

As Gray comes to terms with his betrayal, she turns to his roommates for solace and a place to stay since she can no longer afford the house they were renting. Through this quasi-extended family, she discovers the Grady she never knew, as well as the Gray that she is now becoming, and finds herself getting closer to his lothario friend Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), as friends Sam and Dennis also experience difficulty dealing with the loss of their friend.

Writer/director Susannah Grant, best known as the scribe behind "Erin Brokovich" and "In Her Shoes," has created a poignant story of love, loss, and forgiveness. Kevin Smith shows a serious side as well as provides comic relief as Sam, the inspirational comment writer (okay, typist) for "Constant Comment Teas." Veteran British actress Fiona Shaw, hysterical as the horny headmistress of the tony boarding school in "Three Men and a Little Lady," dons an American accent and gives a heartwarming performance of a mother who just wants her son back. And Juliette Lewis is a bit chiched in the role of flighty masseuse Maureen, who apparently doesn't own a pair of flat shoes.

Though some might find the romance between Gray and Fritz develop a little too quickly, I thought it was handled tastefully given the love-hate relationship between them and how thin the line between the two can be (though the ending was a bit rushed). Missing from the film was Grady himself a couple flashbacks with him would have added depth to the relationship between Gray and Grady and given us a chance to find out what made him such a touchstone for the five lead characters.

The disc's special features are minimal just lots of movie trailers and commentary nothing to write home about.

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I went into watching this with no idea what to expect. I haven't really seen Jennifer Garner in much of anything (wasn't an Alias fan) but I like Kevin Smith and I think Timothy Olyphant is really cute :) so I decided to give it a chance.

This is actually a very sweet, heartfelt little movie. It doesn't contain many earth-shattering revelations about the Meaning of Life but it is head and shoulders above most romantic comedies, in my opinion. It does bring up some interesting points in answer to the question, "How well do we really know the people we love?" I thought that Garner's characters' struggles with the aftermath of her fiance's death the big secret he concealed from her, dealing with her ex-future-mother-in-law, the roommate who blames himself for her fiance's death, the roommate who is in love with her, the friend who was complicit in her fiance's dishonesty who she's now attracted to, the "other woman," etc. were realistically-portrayed and entertaining to watch.

Garner was delightful in this role and I thought portrayed the emotions and mental struggles of her character very authentically. Kevin Smith was great you forget what a good actor he can be because his own movies get so bogged down in substituting volume of dialogue for quality. In this he actually brings a lot of subtle humor and heart to his role, which in his hands would probably have not been handled nearly as deftly. Timothy Olyphant is deliciously sexy and he also brings a lot of subtle light and shading to his role, and plays the romantic hero in a bit of a different way than you usually see. The movie did have some interesting points about how much we blind ourselves to the faults of the people we love. One of my favorite scenes was very near the end, when Gray is talking about a perfect day on the river she shared with her fiance. At the end of the day, driving home, he says he needs to tell her something, and she asks if it will make her happier or less happy. When he says "less happy" she tells him not to tell her. I think we all have a tendency to choose blissful ignorance over painful knowledge where are loved ones are concerned, and can make ourselves be happy with that even when we know we're choosing not to know the whole truth about them.

All in all, this is not a real "feel-good" picture although the ending is happy. It's not a tortured indie but nor is it a brainless mush of a rom-com that we've all seen a hundred million times. I liked it because it was serious and dealt with tough subjects but was uplifting overall. I hate brainless movies, but I also dislike how depressing many "serious" movies are. I don't need any more reasons to lose faith in my fellow man; if I want to see man's inhumanity to man all I have to do is turn on the evening news. I liked "Catch and Release" because it was not a dumb movie but it was not depressing either. Recommended for cynics like me, who still believe in love at the end of the day. :)

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I won't bore you with a summary of the plot, which has already been outlined. I would prefer to highlight how this movie and its aesthetics affected me.

This movie was tastefully directed and the script was witty and intelligent. The comedy was surprising, in that you didn't expect it. I mean, I knew it was a comedy, but I didn't expect the humor to have such intelligence each laugh the movie evoked caught me off guard, because I wasn't expecting it. And that's the best kind of humor there is. I laughed and laughed, especially at Sam, who could make a serious situation funny with just the teensiest effort. And Garner's "She's f'in p.o.'d" line was just awesome! And on top of everything else, the cinematography and soundtrack beautifully captured the spirit of the film. This movie is a work of art that captures all your senses very well put together with wonderful chemistry between the actors.

And I have a new favorite actor: Timothy Olyphant. I saw him in Hitman, but it took me a while to put it together that this was the same guy. He pulled off the easygoing, comedic peformance in this movie without a hitch, something I wouldn't have seen coming based on his Hitman performance, which was also way-cool! And that kiss! Whoa! Well, I guess I should say "kissES" coz ol' Timothy knows how to add the sizzle and spice more than once in this movie. I mean, I thought the kiss at the end of "The Lake House" was good, but the kissing scene in this movie put Keanu and Sandra to shame! Is it gettin' hot in here or is it just me?

At any rate, I loved the story, I loved the humor, I loved the romance, I loved everything about this movie. It wasn't a cliche, which was so refreshing. This has become a staple in my movie library.

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I don't think this movie deserves the very good or very bad reviews.

I think it lacks a polished ending, some of the characters are not very well filled out (where are Gray's parents? Girl-friends?) & editing is what has killed this movie. Several scenes that possibly wound up on the cutting room floor (the original director's cut was over 3 hours) might have been better in the movie, and vice versa.

I don't think the central romantic relationship is that unbelievable. Attraction is a strange thing. I also think people who say Gray wouldn't have gone for Fritz perhaps miss the point that ours AND Gray's first impression of him is supposed to be proven to be incorrect. Perhaps a couple of scenes to help us warm to him might have helped?

All in all I don't think this was a disatrous movie but sadly I think it could have been so much better as the central premise is an interesting one and it had a good cast.

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