Catch and Release

The opening scene of C&R could have been me when my best friend died. Susannah Grant (and Jennifer Garner with her tremendous acting) has put a touching visual to that permanent loss of a loved one. The coming together of these friends, each mourning in their own way and trying to figure out how to move forward, is captured with humor and at times is sadly haunting. Each character looks for a way to stay connected, despite their loss. The use of periods of silence with the camera hanging on an actor's face is effective in communicating all the subtext involved in love, loss and friendship. Although it was easy for me to connect to each character, it may not be so for everyone. There are draws in this movie for everyone, however. Kevin Smith is wonderfully funny. Timothy Olyphant is beautiful to watch and Ms. Grant has used his beauty (and his fantastically revealing facial expressions) to the film's advantage. Jennifer Garner is . . . Jennifer Garner. She's fabulous. I loved this movie and can't wait to see it again.

The title of Susannah Grant's 2006 film refers to the practice of catching a fish for sport then releasing it (rather than frying, broiling, or sauteeing it). The central character Gray (played most fetchingly by Jennifer Garner) is coming to terms with the death of her fiancé and in the process learning a good deal more about him than she thought there was to know. Loosening up about two-thirds through the film "in the company of his friends: lighthearted and comic Sam, hyper-responsible Dennis, and, oddly enough, his old childhood buddy Fritz, an irresponsible playboy whom she'd previously pegged as one of the least reliable people in the world" (as IMDb puts it), she admits that though she never told her fiancé or his friends, she abhors their practice of catching and releasing fish for sport. "If you're going to put a poor fish through the agony of being caught, you ought to have the decency to eat it" (that's a paraphrase).

"Catch and release" seems intended as a symbol of the coming to terms with the loss not only on the part of Gray, but also on the part of the fiancé's friends and mother (played effectively by Fiona Shaw). All of them have significant adjustments to make. But the association of this mental and emotional process with the abhorrent act of torturing a fish doesn't seem to me to work. The psychic process emphasizes the person dealing with loss (the fisherman, as it were), while the sport seems to emphasize the poor fish (which suffers in the catching, while the fisherman invests no psychic effort whatsoever in releasing it).

Though the film invites viewers to reflect on the patience that a significant loss demands of us that we may release and let go, it doesn't really drive the point home. Like the fishing metaphor, the film seems to be more about the catching of the next fish (a new love interest).

Let's put it this way.... right before this movie, I had just watched 28 weeks later (highly recommend btw). It was It was one o clock in the morning, all the lights were off in my house, I was in my basement, and I was alone. There was no way I was making all the way up to my room. So I decided to stay and watch t.v. for a bit and find something cute and sweet to watch. THat is exactly what Catch and Release offered to me.

But cute and sweet are basically the only two words that I can find to correctly describe this movie. It was not good but it definitely was not bad. Its a good movie to watch when nothing else is on. Please do not waste your time and money and rent this movie but if its one o clock in the morning, you don't feel like going to bed, and nothing else is on, then I say what the heck, you might as well watch it if its on HBO or something.

Kevin Smith was definitely the comic relief in this movie. According to Smith, he claims that he can't act and that's why he plays Silent Bob. I say -- NOT TRUE!!! Kevin Smith was perfect as "Sam" and his acting was very good. Jennifer Garner is always a pleasure to watch. She always plays her characters true to form and this movie was no different. I had a bit of a problem with Timothy Olyphant's character, Fritz. There was definitely something missing from the way he was in the beginning of the film to where we saw him end up. Perhaps Ms. Grant will add a few more scenes to eliminate the confusion. Juliette Lewis was just darling and gave a very convincing performance. This film releases in January 2007 so get ready to have some fun.

A bit overlong it may be (it is), but it is very likeable. That is, if you are not fed up or generally annoyed by romantic comedies. Jennifer Garner is someone almost everyone can relate to and an indiviual that most people can fall in love with. Or at least find enchanting.

And then you have Timothy Olyphant. A really good actor, who can be tough, but also very fragile and loving. Something his character totally plays into. The cast in general is pretty good, having to keep the audiences attention for that long. It has the usual trappings of romantic movies, but that was to expect and nothing that should void the fun you can have with the movie