Movie and Film Writing Sample - LA, California

The plots of romantic comedies tend to follow a typical arc:  Boy and girl meet cute, some barrier prevents their romantic union, stuff gets sorted out, and voila!  Happy ending.  Catch and Release strives to be more than a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy by introducing plot devices not normally seen in their PG-13 incarnations, but in doing so, it ultimately falls into the same cliches and traps as even the most banal chick flick.

Jennifer Garner stars as Gray Wheeler, a bride-to-be whose wedding is abruptly canceled when her fiance dies at his fishing-themed bachelor party.  Her mind-numbing grief at his wake is offset by a comedic device, in which one of her fiance's buddies (Fritz, played unconvincingly by Timothy Olyphant) unwittingly has sex with a caterer in the same bathroom in which she has taken refuge.  In fact, this movie never delves too deeply into the maudlin aspects of death and mourning.  Instead, we are quickly introduced to the fiance's two other best buddies, Dennis (Sam Jaeger) and Sam (Kevin Smith). Gray, Dennis and Sam live in a small house in Boulder, and Fritz soon moves in as well.  He's really a successful commercial director in Hollywood, see, and he's just in Boulder to sew up some loose ends.

These "loose ends" soon appear on Gray's doorsteps, in the form of Juliette Lewis, as an L.A. masseuse and her (and, presumably, the fiance's) 4-year old son.  Feelings are hurt, misunderstandings work themselves out, and the truth finally sees the light of day.  Several plot contrivances later, everybody's more or less happy.  A conventional story, dressed up prettily with scenes in downtown Boulder and the Colorado River.

(warning:  Spoilers ahead)

While I admit to one or two laughs during Catch and Release, by and large it failed to deliver.  Jennifer Garner is adorable, as always, and fully commits to playing a character who, soon after the death of her intended, falls into bed with one of said intended's best friends.  Very few young actresses would be capable of making a character likable even while performing emotional blackmail on her former fiance's grieving mother - but Ms. Garner is so charming, the audience may not see this blackmail as the hurtful, despicable act that it is. The character of the roguish playboy Fritz, undergoes an unexplained personality change (some important scenes relevant to this role must have ended up in the editing room floor, although the movie seemed 20 minutes too long regardless).  Why we are supposed to root for these two kids to get together is, frankly, beyond me - except, perhaps, that Fritz is arguably the most attractive of the three buddies.

The real standout of Catch and Release is, believe it or not, Kevin Smith.  I would say he steals the movie, except that would suggest this is a movie worth stealing.  His sloppy, hilarious and lovable character, Sam, works as the guy that selects the pithy sayings and deep thoughts that adorn Celestial Seasonings herbal tea boxes: He always has a quote at the ready.  If Celestial Seasonings didn't pay for product placement in this movie, it is the luckiest company since Swinger staplers got such prominent placement in Office Space.  Kevin Smith has said that he can't act, and that is why he wrote Silent Bob to be, well, silent, in Clerks.  This movie proves him wrong; he was the genuine highlight for me.  Even then, however, his character gets caught in one of the umpteen cliches:  One of the first things Maureen the masseuse says, is that she needs boiling water to make her herbal tea.  Hmmm, wonder who she'll end up with?

Catch and Release is scheduled for release on January 26, 2007.  Late January is traditionally a dumping ground for movie studios to release their perceived duds.  Columbia Pictures got that one right.  Catch and Release may be a serviceable date movie for young adults with low expectations:  With the talent involved in this flick, we really should expect, and deserve, more than simply serviceable.

Written and directed by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, In Her Shoes)

Rated PG-13:  Sexual content, language, and some drug use.