credit: Catch and Release
In this review, I shall give an account of the movie “Catch and Release,” which came out a while ago in 2006. The cast consists of Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Kevin Smith, and Juliette Lewis.
I hadn’t seen it before, and the abstract did not sound too appealing to me as it was just shortly described as a rom-com about a woman who lost her fiancé and discovered many secrets after his death. But oh boy, was I wrong.
The Preface
The film starts with a funeral; Grady, the female protagonist’s late husband, died in a boat accident at his bachelor party a night before his wedding. Thus the wedding day becomes a funeral, as the groom gets buried—all too bittersweet.
At one point, the dead groom’s wife-to-be, Gray (Jennifer Garner), hides behind a shower curtain to catch a breath from all the stress and grief but hears Grady’s best friend, Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), having sex with one of the caterers.
She is visibly annoyed and lets him know. At that point and even further in the plot, I believed Fritz to be a complete idiot and not at all what he becomes later on, especially since Gray seems to disdain him.
A little later, Gray hears from her fiancé’s attorney that she will not inherit his money as they weren’t married. ( Grady had an investment account with a million dollars, which she did not know about, the secrets start to unravel).
Gray then realizes she cannot afford the rent for their shared house anymore and decides to move in with Grady’s close friends, Sam and Dennis. Grady’s best friend Fritz, currently taking a break from working in California, also decides to stay; however, he quickly starts to cause tension.
Throughout the film, other secrets unravel, for example, that Gray’s fiancé cheated on her during their relationship and that he supported his love child and his mother from the illicit affair. In the end, a DNA test proves that the kid wasn’t even his. Again, many twists and turns.
Eventually, Gray and Fritz start to find a liking in each other, hooking up and falling in love while they process their fiancé’s and best friend’s demise.
credit: Catch and Release
Unexpected happenings
First, I thought Gray would end up dating her dead fiancé’s other best friend, Dennis. They had chemistry and sweet moments, and in the beginning, it seemed like they would hit it off since Dennis loved her.
But this film showed me that nothing is as it seems, and the guy who seemed like a moron ( and was portrayed in that manner) would become the leading lady’s lover.
Another point was that I thought it was weird that they introduced us to Grady’s alleged son and his mother, with whom he cheated on Gray, to disclose that the boy isn’t his son. But that was just a storyline to show the viewer that love and care do not have to be “bound by blood.” In the end, Maureen (the side fling) ends up with Sam (Kevin Smith), another best friend of Grady’s, and is still supported by Grady’s family with money.
I still thought it was touching that the friends, as well as Grady’s family, accepted Maureen and her son despite the circumstances, and even when they found out Maureen and her son weren’t blood-related, thus not “attached” to them anymore, they didn’t give them up and considered them family either way.
credit: Catch and Release
My opinion
Although the characters’ names are a little silly: Gray and Grady, Fritz, etc., it doesn’t take much away from the lovely and homely story while also hitting you deeply to the core.
Many unexpected turns and love triangles occurred, that I did not bank on when the film started. I honestly did not expect it would be so gut-wrenching before watching it.
Jennifer Garner and Tim Olyphant are incredible in this film, and their chemistry is jaw-dropping, which results in one of the best kissing scenes in film history ever. (Just my humble opinion). And yes, it is messy and, at times, unbelievable and strange but aren’t all the best love stories that life writes messy and complicated?
One of its strongest suits is the film’s monologue at the dedication ceremony at the end, where Gray talks about how she fell for her dead fiancé’s best friend when processing his passing and all his buried secrets. It is one of the most beautiful monologues I have witnessed in cinematic history, so raw and honest, like life itself.
Arguments against the mixed reviews
Although the film has received mixed reviews, I did not think it was shallow, or over the top; I believe it has a unique and realistic manner to show how life and people overall can throw unexpected curve balls at us and end up surprising us all the time.
Moreover, the movie is witty and emotional at the same time; overall just a great feel-good movie, one of the best ones I have seen lately, that still shows the viewer profound life lessons. It doesn’t judge; it just is and tells us that nothing is as it seems.
Like when Gray tells Fritz in bed, “You’re not who I thought you were.”
“Neither are you.”
We, as humans, tend to judge so early, while we should try to keep our hearts open at all times. Otherwise, we will never know what could be and could have been.
Now in the top 5 of my favorite romantic comedies.
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