Catch & Release
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Kevin Smith, Juliette Lewis
Director: Susannah Grant
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, language and some drug use.
Details: A woman struggles to accept the death of her fiancé and the secrets he kept from her as she rebuilds her life.
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My review: I’ve usually enjoyed Jennifer Garner since seeing her in Alias (Thanks for screwing that one up for everyone, Ben Affleck.), but the whole plot of Catch & Release didn’t exactly “catch” me as much as it, um, dang I can’t really use “release” there, can I? So first you’ll notice the genre “Romantic Comedy” and then you’ll see the plot: Woman loses her fiancé just before the wedding and then struggles through the discovery of all his secrets, dirty and clean. Yeah, not exactly humorous topics to work from. But when I was faced with the option of reading United’s “Hemispheres” tattered magazine or watching this movie I went with the latter, and I’m actually glad I did.

Some how this cast and crew pull off a comedy that features all of the following: death of a fiancé, overdose on drugs, unrequited love, infidelity, and bastard children. And no, this isn’t a “black” or “dark” comedy. Talk about unconventional. It honestly just tries to survive with funny lines and character interactions, and yes, it actually works. Jennifer Garner’s character is believable and enjoyable as she wades through the aftermath and keeps her chin up with the continued belief that things will be better on the other side.

It’s really the supporting cast that makes this movie work though. Kevin Smith and Juliette Lewis are the most enjoyable, fun parts of the cast and that should come as no surprise being the most veteran actors of the bunch. Lewis plays the Feng Shui, new-age mistress that comes to town and bumbles her way noisily through Garner’s life. Smith is the overly supportive, yet somewhat loserish buddy that dearly misses his departed friend. Despite the terrible situations everyone always plays nice, which leaves this movie with a nice, clean feeling. I don’t know how they did it either.

If you’ve got an extra afternoon I’d actually would recommend this movie. It does run a full two hours and change, but the story keeps from dragging along so you won’t get bored. Don’t expect a lot to happen as it’s more of a character study with entertaining interactions. Instead you’ll get a low key, but funny film that’s a nice change of pace from the regular romantic comedy junk that gets churned out on a weekly basis.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars
High point: Kevin Smith and Juliette Lewis
Low point: Odd topics for a comedy

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Catch & Release Movie Trailer:

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