Catch and Release - movie review

I am not a big fan of Jennifer Garner. Ever since she "stole" Ben away to build a perfect family she has been on the hate list. Before that she was just another generic starlet trying to leverage her television audience into a cimetic career. Admittedly she had secured small roles in big films (Pearl Harbor, Catch me if You Can, Daredevil - ok, not so small) prior to her "Alias" success but it was not until the teen dream box office of 13 Going on 30 that anyone felt she could carry a film. And that was only two years ago! So now we get Catch and Release.


Still, with all of that I had to see the film because winter is usually a wasteland for romantic films and every gal needs a good romcom sometimes. Luckily, the film is not a complete disappointment. Here's the catch: a man dies JUST before his wedding leaving behind his fiance, his firends and a secret past. An interesting concept that still feels overly contrived. Garner plays Gray Wheeler (hello, fake name alert!) - the grieving fiancee who must move in with her dead man's buddies because she can't afford the future they had planned before his demise. This setup puts her in the path of Kevin Smith (now on the receiving end of the favours in his relationship with an Affleck) as the quirky friend who writes quotes on herbal tea boxes; Sam Jaeger (ummm, yummy) as the firend with his own unrequited crush on her, and Timothy Olyphant (ummm, yummier) as the playboy best friend that noone takes seriously. Enter her ex-fiance's ex-girl (Juliet Lewis in all her herbal0nfused and whacked-out glory) and their "maybe" child and you have the makings of film about self-discovery. Right?

If all that sounds confusing the release is found in the performances themselves. Garner proves herself to be charming in the celluloid sense This is important since a failure to like her would ruin the experience. The film moves between some genuine moments of 30-year-olds in transition. Jaeger's confession is heart breaking. Smith's bonding with the child is sweet. And the development of Garner from "the girlfriend" to herself is achieved with ease. But the stand out is truly Olyphant who finally moves out of his slimier roles to a true romantic lead, I don't know when it happens but I dare anyone to not fall for his 5 o'clock chadowed Fritz. I dare you! And although his story arc with Garner is pure movie mojo you can't help but cheer for them. At the end of the day you could catch a worse film than this one. It offers the romcom release expected but not much more.