The Alternate Ending DVD Review: Catch and Release
Posted by Dave Tomlinson on 05.16.2007
Needs more catch and less release.
Catch and Release
Film:
I seem to recall being a fan of some pretty bad movies in my time. The one I’m thinking of in particular is from a few years back when I was store jockey in a video store a while. Being an avid movie fan, this was the perfect job to have, as I got to check out new discs a week or two early. Had I known I’d end up writing about them one day I might have kept the job. Anyway, not the point (yes I have one). I distinctly remember getting the “Coyote Ugly” discs in and thinking to myself that ‘hey it’s 5 half naked chicks dancing on a bar for 90 minutes and what the hell it might be good for a few laughs’. After getting over my initial disappointment (only about 20 minutes is in the bar, for those who haven’t seen it, the rest is a straight up chick flick), me and a few coworkers sat through the movie. It turns out I kind of dug the story, anchored by a charming performance from the very likable Piper Parabo. My point (finally!) is that I’m not dismissing “Catch and Release” simply because it’s a chick flick. I can usually get into a chick flick if it’s a well made chick flick.
No, I pretty well disliked “Catch” because it’s not a very good movie. It’s just about everything that gives chick flicks their bad name. It’s cliché ridden, it’s funny in that “who gives a shit” way that pretty much every sitcom is, but most of all, it’s exactly what I thought it would be when I sat down to watch it Saturday night with my girlfriend. The story, such as it is, concerns Gray (Jennifer Garner) who has just lost her fiancée days before the wedding. It seems Grady (I know, Gray and Grady… sounds like that couple we all hated in high school) perished on his bachelor weekend fishing trip when his boat crashed. So Gray moves into Grady’s old bedroom with his best friends Sam (Kevin Smith) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger) because she can’t afford the house the happy couple was set to move in to. Also hanging around is Grady’s best friend, bad boy Fritz (Timothy Olyphant) who, of course, Gray hates. Fritz lives in L.A. and makes his living directing commercials, but seems unable to head back home, and beds down on the couch-bed in the living room of their little house.
Gray is shocked to find out that Grady had a million dollar account that he’d kept hidden from her, and then finds a cell phone ringing one night with bizarre messages about from a woman in L.A., about money being owed. Of course this would be Maureen (Juliette Lewis) the mother of Grady’s child from his illicit affair he carries on when he visits Fritz.
All of this is just about as bad as it sounds. Aside from a few witty one liners from Smith, the movie alternates between equal parts annoying and boring. Even Garner, whom I usually enjoy, plays such a wishy washy twerp that I just can’t seem to muster any sympathy for her. Gray pretty well acts like every weepy drama queen that ever jerked you around. “Bay boy” Fritz isn’t bad though he does act like a little kid trapped in a grown mans body. Dennis of course has his unspoken crush on Gray and acts like a total wuss for most of the movie. Smith’s Sam is of course fun, it’s Kevin Smith. He’s always good for a chuckle or two. But sadly, the only really winning performance here is Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia of the “Harry Potter” movies) as Grady’s mother. Shaw really shows some emotional depth and, unlike the rest of the cast, isn’t just a one-note character.
Writer-director Susannah Grant must shoulder the lion’s share of the blame for this being so uninteresting. While this is her first time directing, she started her career writing on the show underrated “Party of Five” but her track record since then is something of a roller coaster. There is some good (“Ever After”, “In Her Shoes”) there are a couple real stinkers in there (Disney’s “Pocahontas”, and the really dreadful “Erin Brockovich”). On the commentary track with Smith, she relates an anecdote about some of her writing colleagues telling her how similar they find Jennifer Garner and her. Well, if the character of Gray is in any way autobiographical, then I have a feeling Grant and I would never get along.
Extras:
Commentaries: There are two. One of which Grant does with Smith, which is worth a listen as all Smiths commentaries are. Oddly Smith runs the show here, I guess he just doesn’t know how to take a back seat on these things.
Tech Specs: Video
Grant does take advantage of the beautiful countryside in Vancouver where they shot the film. They do a nice job of making it look like rural Colorado where the story is supposed to take place.
Audio
Largely a dialogue driven movie, but the sound mix is nice and you really hear the background noises in the exterior shots.
The 411: In the end, "Catch" turns out to be, as stated, exactly what I thought it would be. This is dangerous territory for a movie of this nature. I don't have any problem with formula movies, but the formula has to be a good one. In order for a chick flick to shine, they have to surprise you here and there. Not every movie has to reinvent the wheel... but they have to spin it once or twice.
