There’s a reason why Jennifer Garner is the only star billed in ads for Catch and Release – everyone else sucked. While writer and director Susannah Grant (Erin Brokovich) is probably as much to blame as her wooden actors, the bottom line is that her movie can be summed up with one word: bland.

Garner plays Gray, whose fiancé Grady (way to make things confusing) dies unexpectedly in a skiing accident. Three of his closest buddies swoop in to help Gray pick up the pieces – only to complicate the grieving process when it slips that her man had recently fathered a child with a LA masseuse. Heartbroken and under pressure from Grady’s mother to stop the illegitimate kid from inheriting Grady’s million-dollar wealth (which had been another secret), Gray runs into the arms of Fritz, the only one of Grady’s confidantes who knew the truth. Surprise, surprise, they fall in love.

Catch and Release is highly predictable. A shame, since the storyline allows for what could have been a very unique approach to the subject of dealing with death – which isn’t always a popular choice for feel-good movies. The key element missing was some character-driven personality. Instead, we get Fritz – a pretty face (played by Josh Duhamel-lookalike Timothy Olyphant) cursed with the cheesiest of lines (Gray: “What’s your favourite colour?” / Fritz: “Gray” / Audience: Vomit.) Dennis, played by TV star Sam Jaeger, is another friend vying for Gray’s love, who seems to have no other purpose in life other than to suffocate her with attention. Director-writer Kevin Smith gives acting a go again here, in a stereotypical funny guy role as friend #3. Appropriate, and Smith does do a good job of lightening up the movie, but again, nothing much there beyond that. It almost seems too bad that Grady is dead because he surely could have kicked this movie up a notch. Daring cheater, but one, we later find out, who may actually have had a generous heart. Complex.

On the up side, Garner does succeed in bringing just enough conflict into Gray to make her character interesting to watch. However, it doesn’t seem to be quite enough to make Catch & Release something worth remembering.

2*/5*






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