Catch & Release

A romantic comedy that tries to add depth and poignancy to the usual roundelay of relationship musical chairs, but winds being as formulaic as any network sitcom, writer-director Susannah Grant's Catch & Release starts with an awkward premise as the imminent wedding of a winsome bride-to-be named Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) is turned into a funeral after her fiancé dies in a boating accident. Naturally, Gray does what any woman in her situation would do—she moves in with her fiancé's roommates: Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), a handsome filmmaker who Gray initially dismisses as a brazen womanizer but is later attracted to; Dennis (Sam Jaeger), who is obviously besotted with Gray; and the visiting, wisecracking Sam (filmmaker Kevin Smith). In addition, Gray discovers a couple of shocking secrets: not only was her intended extremely wealthy, he was also paying monthly support to another woman (Juliette Lewis) with a young son. Unnecessarily complicated, rather implausible, and featuring dialogue that has the affected, forced quality that constantly sounds written rather than spoken, Catch & Release does at least boast an attractive cast—Garner has the quality of an up and coming Julia Roberts, and Olyphant shows some charm as her new boyfriend. But while it deserves credit for trying to be a bit more serious than most romcoms, the uneven mixture of laughter and tears here provokes mostly frowns. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with writer-director Susannah Grant and costar Kevin Smith; the other with Grant and cinematographer John Lindley), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)