Catch and Release

I do not like Jennifer Garner. I had seen Erin Brokovich but I had not found it very special, so I do not have some strong feelings for Susannah Grant. I do not recall Timothy Olyphant from any of the movies he has been in. I like watching lighthearted romantic comedies from time to time just to spend some easy time however I never think of writing anything about them, nor discussing about them with friends. I do know Kevin Smith and I like him just a little, again, no special admiration for him. And yet, there is something about Catch and Release that I can not describe, which attracts me to it, and every now and then makes me want to see it again and again, and even makes me want to write about it, to share.

Catch & Release Bande Annonce
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Catch and Release is a 2006 movie about a young woman, Gray (Jennifer Garner), trying to reconcile with the death of her fiance right before the wedding, and how her life and even herself changes when she finds out the truth about him, which has been long unknown to her. While Gray picks up the happy pieces in her 6 years relationship with Grady and starts to move on, she finds out that Grady had been having an affair with another woman in L.A. and there is even a child involved. This is extremely unexpected news, for Gray and Grady had been the perfect couple for years, and he had been a hero, the man, in most of his friends' and aquaintances' lives. As she learns the reality bit by bit from Grady's best friend, Fritz, and from the other woman (Juliette Lewis) herself when she suddenly shows up with her kid, she finds out the real Grady, and her real self, and falls for Fritz, who is definitely not her style.

The movie received absolutely negative reviews from almost all the official critics and from the audience, however, there is something promising in it. One of the best things about the movie is to have Kevin Smith in the cast, who is very famous and successful in the Indie movie scene, and his presence turns the movie's style a little bit indie-ish at some point. Other than Smith and Juliette Lewis, the performances of the remaining cast is not remarkable at all, and yet, this is not all that discouraging or disturbing. The character developments are extremely weak for some, however, it is pleasant to see how one thinks she knows her beloved deeply when in reality there is a whole different him, which, for sure, may happen in real life; in most of the romantic comedies there is one quite exaggerated bad guy and other people are usually cute and funny and nice, however, Catch and Release's characters are true people with their own flaws or search for perfections.

There is one other remarkable feature of the film, the soundtrack. Although usually I do not like listening to that genre, the music suits the movie perfect. The list of the musicians include Death Cab For Cutie, Foo Fighters (and I seriously can not stand that band normally), Joshua Radin, The Lemonheads and many more. They are certainly the best choices for the movie and the music surely adds a more indie feeling to it.

Therefore, Catch and Release is totally catchy and it gives a certain feeling of peace in the end. A good choice of 124 minutes I assure you, for a, let's say, calm, week day's evening. Oh, and Timothy Olyphant, as Fritz, who looks like a 20-something guy, is 41 years old, an impressive detail.