[DVD Review (R2)] CATCH & RELEASE
‘DVD Reissues’ sent for review are often the bane of my life. Films re-released at a cheap promotional price, with slight ammendments to their cover art or what not, are regularly sent my way for review or to publicise and nine times out of ten they’re films that I have absolutely no interest in. If they were then I would probably have watched/reviewed/owned them already. On a bad month I can spend around £20 – £30 just on resending such movies back to the marketers because I have zero intention of watching them, let alone wasting time reviewing them (Movies with Steven Seagal in them – I am talking about you!). There’s the rare occasion when a movie comes my way that I have been meaning to take a look at but never found the time or found it just slipped off my radar. Catch and Release is one such movie.
Re-released at budget price as part of Sony’s “Girl’s Night In” range (promoting a wealth of ‘chick flicks’ from their back catalogue, in aid of Cancer Research, to tie in with the recent DVD release of Sex & The City), this appears to be an act of ‘counter-marketing’ to Sony’s own recent ‘Fight Factory’ budget release strategy where all straight-to-DVD Seagal/Van Damme/Ludgren etc movies are all out with special covers for around a fiver. (Still a fiver too much in my opinion!).
Being an enormous fan of Kevin Smith (his Evening With… DVDs seem to get an airing at a rate of almost once a fortnight at my place!) I was always meaning to check this ‘romantic-comedy-drama’ out but just never found the time. Now I’ve been afforded the opportunity. And I’m going to apply the “rules” I drew up in my What Happens In Vegas review regarding the conventions of the romantic comedy genre to take a look at Catch & Release.
First… the plot: After the sudden death of her fiancé, Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) finds comfort in the company of his friends: lighthearted and comic Sam (Kevin Smith), hyper-responsible Dennis (Sam Jaeger), and, oddly enough, his old childhood buddy Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), an irresponsible playboy whom she’d previously pegged as one of the least reliable people in the world. As secrets about her supposedly perfect fiancé emerge, Gray comes to see new sides of the man she thought she knew, and at the same time, finds herself drawn to the last man she ever expected to fall for.
Baring in mind that I received an e-mail in the last couple of months telling me that my ‘rules’ regarding the romantic comedy genre have now become the catalyst for one StalePopcorn reader and his girlfriend to get hammered on alcohol regularly by using it as a template for a drinking game between the two of them whenever they watch a romantic comedy, then let me bang through the rules in relation to Catch & Release so you can get a fair idea from the off-set as to just how drunk you’re going to get from this film (beware of spoilers, but if this is the sort of film where you think there’s anything to be “spoilt” then you ain’t ever seen a movie eh pal?):
1. Do the Boy and Girl meet under contrived plot occurrences that force said characters to instantly hate each other for thoroughly unrealistic reasons?
Hmmm… Well, what would you say if I told you that the duo met whilst the Girl was mourning her dead fiancee at his wake, nips upstairs to be alone and has her alone time ‘gate-crashed’ by Boy, who uses the room to fuck the catering girl?
2. Does such plot occurrences develop in a thoroughly immature and underdeveloped fashion to put said Boy and said Girl in almost constant contact with each other so ‘differences’ of opinion, lifestyle etc. can rub off on one another?
You know what? The set-up to put our romantic protagonists in almost constant contact with each other isn’t at all contrived, immature or undeveloped. He ends up staying in the same house as her in the aftermath of the funeral, and… you know… “shit” happens!
3. Does the Boy and Girl have respective best friends, standing off in the background, making comedic asides about this thoroughly ridiculous situation between the two of them?
No ‘respective best friends’ – just one! Played by Kevin Smith. And you know what? Coming from the guy who loves the shit out of Smith but found his appearance in Die Hard 4.0 to be detrimental, I’ve got to say Smith is the best thing about this movie. He’s sweet, likeable, believable and a huge amount of fun. Unlike many an actor stuck with his “type” of role, he never once feels or sounds like he is speaking “script-cliches” in order to move the story along!
4. Does the film cast some forgotten character actor from a decade ago, who used to be quite well acclaimed early in his career, in some “mentor” role for either Boy or Girl character?
Well… Fiona Shaw, the respected British actress of stage and screen, who works in a lot of Hollywood movies but has NEVER been used to her full capabilities, is in this but she is certainly not in any mentor role per se. In fact, the script manages to keep us on our toes as to just what exactly is motivating her character. Is she support? Is she a villain? We don’t know because both the script and Shaw do remarkable, believable work with this ONE character so we never know what her next act of grief will be!
5. Do the Boy and Girl invariably fall in love with one another but deny it for the longest possible time because a movie studio’s lack of respect for a cinema going audience does not extend to charging them full ticket price for what would only amount to a ten minute fucking movie?
Oh no, no. None of that contrived bullshit here. The movie is more about a “hidden” romance then a blossoming one! Yeah, there’s all the same crappy cliches that come with this schtick but, what can I say, it all works better here then it does in many a movie of this ilk!
6. Is there an absolutely contrived, clunky plot complication that arises at the exact moment that said Boy and Girl are about to connect that will force them apart?
Yes, there is BUT it’s neither contrived nor clunky. It DOES adhere to the whole ‘someone hiding behind a door, hearing something they shouldn’t’ but the aftermath is dealt with quite maturely and realistically. There’s no miscommunication. No bitterness. Two characters talk through what was said and what was heard and our ‘romance’ is deceased and the start of the third act begins.
7. Will either Boy or Girl decide they have to leave whatever location the whole movie’s events are occurring within, whether it be by plane, train, boat or automobile?
Yup. Boy decides he’s off back to LA and… off he goes! No extended drama, etc!
8. Does whichever character NOT leaving find out that the other is going/gone and make an obligatory mad dash to whatever location they are leaving from, in order to stop them?
Nope, none of that! There’s the obligatory travelling montage set to cheesy romantic indie music in order to get Girl to Boy but mad chases, confusion, grand declarations etc are a little too “immature” for this film!
9. Does the “chaser” catch up with the “chased” and make a grand verbal declaration of love that has been written by a spotty faced script doctor who has never met a woman let alone been intimate with one, but who dreams of saying exactly this sort of ‘shit’ to a female of the species (who isn’t inflatable) one day?
Girl does indeed speak from the heart to the Boy she has come after but it is brief and sounds real to my ear. Probably because the dialogue was written by Susannah Grant (also directing) who did the script for Erin Brokovich, and not a spotty faced script doctor who has never met a woman let alone been intimate with one, but who dreams of saying exactly this sort of ‘shit’ to a female of the species (who isn’t inflatable) one day
10. Do we end on whatever ridiculous plot contrivance that occurred to cause this whole inconceivable miscommunication being INSTANTLY forgotten so that a long, lingering kisses can be dispensed with as the camera pulls out and some inane pop, romance ballad plays out over the end credits?
Well seeing as the plot mechanic wasn’t entirely ridiculous or contrived in the first place, the whole final speech/big kiss doesn’t smart as much on our intelligence as the likes of What Happens In Vegas does. Extra kudos to director Grant who fades out on the final kiss instead of going for the cliche of the big pull-out. It might not be much, but at least it is a LITTLE different from the norm these days!
So… if you’re going to use this flick as fuel for your drinking game, I’d say you’re going to get tipsy but not full blown drunk. And if you have to get your girlfriend/boyfriend/family pet drunk in order to “see some action” and “loosen their morals”, and you ARE planning on using this ‘romantic comedy’ drinking game, then I’d suggest you shy away from this movie and go for the Diaz/Kutcher travesty instead!
What can I tell ya? I liked Catch & Release. I thought it was a sweet movie with a difficult tone to get right, which it did surprisingly well. Three And Out could learn something from this movie. A romantic comedy set in and around a grieving circle of friends doesn’t scream “Watchable” but Catch & Release very much is.
This is most definitely down to the accomplished performances by two very likeable actors, Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant (fast becoming one of the most interesting and enjoyable of actors out there at the moment – regardless of the fact that most of his best work in Die Hard 4.0 was allegedly left on the cutting room floor). They don’t mug for laughs, or over-play facial expressions in the heartfelt moments. They stayed as real and as believable as they needed to to sell this story to me. They’re ably assisted by some fine work from the aforementioned Kevin Smith (who, of course, gets ALL the best lines in the movie), Sam Jaeger and Juliette Lewis.
Catch & Release is no rival to the wonders of When Harry Met Sally or Knocked Up, but it’s a nice, sweet, well-performed and well-made piece of confection. It’s old enough now to start appearing for free on your TV screens so if you can spare the time, I’d say you wouldn’t feel as if your time has been stolen if you sit down to watch it. It’s also available now, as mentioned, as part of a budget re-release range in assistance of Cancer Research. It’s not an embarrassment to have on your shelf AND you’d be helping charity!
NB: Wyv, seeing me rate this as highly as I do, would probably provide you with ample ammuniation to avenge the verbal slights I gave you for your praise of Mona Lisa Smile. I have only brought it upon myself, I know! And… before you say it: The ‘Moral High Ground’ IS Over-Rated!!!
5 Responses to “[DVD Review (R2)] CATCH & RELEASE”
Quite round here huh? Comes to something when there’s only spam to keep you company?
Does anyone even know if Wyv is still alive, lol? Last we heard he wasn’t feeling very well and we’ve not heard hide nor hair of him since!
If he’s left me this site in his will as opposed to his DVD collection I will be mighty pissed! lol
Wyv mate, if you’re reading this, I’m having mass problems with my hotmail at the moment otherwise I’d be emailing you this… so if you’re okay, leave a message here!
Well, I saw Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist last night at a screening, so that’ll get a review soon.
Just the picture in this post makes me puke. Sweet sugary Jennifer Garner. Puke.
Yeah sorry, been mad busy and working away for a bit so not had any real internet access. Should be back posting reviews this weekend though. Good work keeping things running while I’ve been away, though, mate.
Oh, and I would never use your opinion of this movie as a reason to take you to task for your views on Mona Lisa Smile – the moral high ground is a fantastic place!
It may well be a fantastic place, but kicking people from such a pedestal is an even more fantastic feeling! LOL
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