'Catch and Release': No Bait on the Hook

By Desson Thomson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007; Page C05

Caught dead center in the confused effort "Catch and Release" is Jennifer Garner, playing a young woman who ends up attending the funeral of her fiance on what would have been their wedding day. Throughout this story -- which teeter-totters between traditional rom-com and semi-downer ensemble piece -- Garner retains a permanent grimace, as if persuasive acting can be achieved by contorting cheek muscles and pouting lips. It's not just depressing to watch her, it's tiring. We want to tell her to relax -- for our own relief.

Moviegoers who have come to see Garner get down and flirty, perhaps remembering her sweet turn in 2004's "13 Going on 30," will soon find themselves shifting in their seats. By the time she lightens up, well, the credits aren't far away.



Timothy Olyphant and Jennifer Garner in a romantic comedy that's not sure what it wants to be. (By Doug Curran -- Columbia Pictures Via Associated Press)

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Writer-turned-director Susannah Grant -- she scripted "Erin Brockovich" -- apparently delayed the final shooting schedule for a year to accommodate Garner's final season on TV's "Alias" and the birth of the actress's child. Clearly, Grant should have used the lag time for creative troubleshooting.