Traditional romantic comedy

Staring: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jeager, Kevin Smith
Directed by: Sussanah Grant

I now strongly believe that Hollywood had officially run out of ideas. First they start remaking the great movies and then they fall back on weird movie options. Catch and Release was just a random choice for me and the film opened promisingly, teasing us and playing with our expectations as we first see Gray (Jennifer Garner) and the circumstances she finds herself in. However, Grant never quite builds on that initial promise and soon Catch and Release meanders into traditional romantic comedy territory, complete with the obligatory playful and lovable sidekick – in this case, Sam (Kevin Smith) – and the friend harbouring a romantic secret of his own, Dennis (Sam Jaeger).

The crux of the story is Gray's realisation that her life is being turned upside down because of what she finds out about a loved one. And – I'm giving away no secrets here, because it is, after all, a romantic comedy – the blossoming romance between her and Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), who at first is seemingly wrong for her. But do you really want to go into the intricacies of a possible relationship there?

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The star of the film is undoubtedly Garner. Just as she did in 13 Going on 30 (2004), she again takes what should be a pedestrian film and boosts it considerably with her undeniable charm. She has a smile that melts the hardest heart and although Catch and Release can never shake its conventions, whenever the film entertains, it's mostly because of Garner. She imbues Gray with a vulnerability that's utterly convincing. But that in effect is all that even she can achieve. I'm going out on a limb here but the smile doesn't really make this a great movie. I must be crazy for having thought it may have some future!

Anyway, a couple of weeks into the death of her fiancé, Gray realises that he's not who he made himself out to be for her. He's got another life and a completely different lifestyle to the one that he made available for her perusal.

The comedy is provided throughout the movie by Smith, who plays one the fiancé's best pals. Smith – essentially playing himself with cleaner language – the film's funniest lines. They're not anything novel, but it's typical Kevin Smith. Grant also tags on a romantic interest for Sam. It's no surprise, because Grant cannot break the shackles of the genre for something original. You can see the pairing long before it actually happens on screen.

Juliette Lewis seems an oddity in this film. I've not seen her in a film for years and her character tends to grate a bit. Lewis is a good actress, but she seems to get typecast in these off-kilter roles and there's an unmistakable sense we've seen this performance from her before.

Of course, Catch and Release has a certain sweetness about it. How can it not when the leads cute and a funny sidekick is thrown into the equation. But it offers nothing new and relies on a few too many "movie" moments to elicit laughs. Some of those moments are funny, but you get the impression they're not exactly rooted in any realm of reality. Yet, Grant seems to want to lend her story a sense of reality, one that deals with love, loss and forgiveness.

Is it too much to ask a Hollywood romantic–comedy writer to be even slightly daring? Hollywood-produced romantic comedies, by their very nature, are predictable. You know going in the girl and the guy will wind up together, so it's the journey that is supposed to thrill us. Maybe even surprise us. Grant, however, chooses the safest, and therefore, least surprising, path. She hits all the points a screen writing guru without an ounce of originality would demand be seen in a romcom script. The only novelty here is that Grant got some attractive, appealing and talented actors for her directorial debut. It is they who keep this extremely conventional story from turning unbearable. Though, even Garner's considerable cuteness cannot salvage the film's ending.

Watch it if you liked – The Notebook
Movie Hall of Fame – No
Tagline – Life is Messy, Love is
Messier…

He said/she said – I think catch and release fisherman are heartless weenies. I think putting a fish through agony for nothing more than your own entertainment is just plain cruel. I think if you're going to torture a living thing if, you're going to make it look into the eyes of its maker, face its own puny little place in the universe, then, for God's sake, have the decency to eat it!