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Catch and Release Movie Review

Jan 25, 2007

Instead of heading off on a romantic honeymoon, Gray Wheeler winds up at her fiance's funeral. Before this tragedy really has a chance to sink in, Gray starts to realize just how much she didn't know about her one true love. Read on for the review!

Catch and Release - Downward Spiral

Gray Wheeler's life is turned upside down when her fiancé, Grady, dies in an accident on his bachelor party fishing weekend. Instead of slipping into her wedding dress, Gray finds herself all in black, hiding out in a bathroom to avoid all the people who have come to pay their respects. The reality of her situation quickly sets in (she can no longer afford to rent her house alone, there are a stock pile of wedding presents to deal with, etc.) and she jumps at the chance to be surrounded by the people who are dealing with the same loss - Grady's best friends. She promptly moves into Grady's old bedroom and begins to make it her own.

Catch and Release - A Surprise Around Every Corner

Just as Gray lets her current situation settle in around her, she gets another big shock. Grady was a millionaire. A millionaire who had been giving a woman in California $3,000 a month to support a child they had together. And the only person who had any idea of these secrets is Grady's allusive, movie-director best friend from California who had known along of Grady's double life. With no where else to turn for help, Grady's "secret girlfriend" shows up in Colorado, looking for some answers herself. You would think this is where the chaos begins, but that's not quite the case in Catch and Release.

Catch and Release - Throw it Back

Catch and Release has too many plot lines than it knows what to do with. None are ever properly developed, leaving the movie feeling quite empty. Serious situations are solved a little too easily, Gray falls for the "misunderstood" friend instead of the more dependable guy who's loved her forever and Gray doesn't seem to have any family or friends of her own. Aren't they usually the people a girl turns to in her time of need?

Catch and Release - Bottom Line

Even though the cast of Catch and Release is talented, they just can't quite hold together this awkward plot. Kevin Smith is really funny, Juliette Lewis plays a pseudo-hippie like a pro and Jennifer Garner even offers up some likable scenes, but it's just not enough. If you were hoping for a cute chick flick, you're best to hold out for something like Music and Lyrics (with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore) or The Ex (with Zach Braff and Amanda Peet).

Catch and Release Rating:

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