Review of Catch and Release (2006) by Thomas L — 01 Jun 2009

I was interested in seeing this 'cause it's the directorial debut of Susannah Grant, the talented screenwriter of Erin Brockovich, Ever After, 28 Days, In Her Shoes, Charlotte's Web (the Dakota Fanning one) and, most recently, The Soloist.

I'm glad this was her first shot at directing so I can forgive her for it being mostly bleh. I suppose the main issue I had was that the film didn't seem sure of itself, like with its tone or its pacing.

Quite frankly it just felt awkward at times. The whole setup with Jennifer Garner's dead fiance who turns out to have been the keeper of many personal secrets sounds like a great premise for a thriller or something, but instead it's couched here as a dramedy.

And what's with Kevin Smith's one-note clown? What made him do this around the same time he directed the awesome Clerks 2?