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SYNOPSIS:
After the death of her fiance, Gray movies in with her late
love's best friends. While Sam and Dennis do their best to
cheer Gray up, Fritz doesn't seem to care. Once Gray breaks
through Fritz's defenses, however, she finally sees why her
fiance thought so highly of him. As they spend more time together,
Gray learns that her chances for love have not died out with
her fiance. But when some surprise guests show up on their
doorstep, it'll take the love of all her new friends to help
Gray learn that life may be messy but love is messier.
MOVIE
REVIEW
The only
reason this reviewer can think of why he does not exactly
did not enjoy this romantic drama is – he is still a
young lad.
The 112-minute
picture tells the story of how a young woman grapples with
life after the sudden death of her fiancé. She lives
her new life in the presence of her fiancé’s
friends, and before she knows it, she uncovers a not-so-nice
secret about the man she thought she loved, and also falls
in love with a man she thought she’d never love.
Come on,
a synopsis like that has the words “chick flick”
spelt all over it, and how can you blame a 20-odd young man
for not being able to connect with the characters in the movie?
It does
not help that the plot meanders aimlessly quite a bit as our
protagonist tries to find balance in her messy life, creating
very predictable storylines that anyone can see coming at
the beginning of the movie. There aren’t many ups and
downs too, and all you see is the directionless girl drifting
her life from one scene to the next.
Thankfully,
Jennifer Garner puts in an earnest performance in this otherwise
bland movie. We are sure she could have done worse (Elektra,
anyone?), given the rather uninteresting story to work with.
Funnyman Kevin Smith (Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back),
the shy-looking Sam Jaeger (Hart’s War, Lucky Number
Slevin) and the brooding Timothy Olyphant (TV’s Deadwood)
play Garner’s new pals with enough chemistry, while
Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cold Creek Manor) shines
as a woman who appears in Garner’s life unexpectedly.
While
we recognize writer Susannah Grant’s previous screenplays
like Pocahontas (1995) and In Her Shoes (2005), the first-time
director did not exactly score with her latest work. Sure,
the whole idea of “catch and release’ sounds philosophical,
interesting and engaging (it refers to how fishermen should
release the fish they caught in the sea to give them a new
life), but it just does not work here, especially not with
the younger viewers.
Of
course, one can say that I’m not a woman, how would
I be able to feel these rich emotions of life? Either way,
it’s probably because I haven’t experienced what
they call “quarter-life crisis” – yet.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains not one, but two commentaries
- they sure have lots to talk about for a rather lackluster
movie like this. The first “Commentary by writer/director
Susannah Grant and Kevin Smith” does not really
focus on what you are seeing on the screen. It has more information
like where Grant got her inspirations from. An interesting
bit is how she used to interview unhappy people on television
without losing herself in depression. Also, Grant seems to
be tickled by every one-liner Smith spouts.
In
contrast, the second “Commentary by writer/director
Susannah Grant and cinematographer John Lindley” does
not sound as lively. Lindley (Pleasantville, Bewitched) discusses
with Grant how his cinematography achieved maximum effect
despite a small room setting, and how Smith looks extra fat
on screen. Grant, on the other hand, does not seem amused.
There
is a 20-minute “From Concept to Completion Featurette”
which has Grant and her cast talk about the inspirations of
the film, and how the title came about. In a heartwarming
moment, Grant also talks about her the producers entrusted
her despite her lack of experience in directing movies.
Three
four-odd minute “Audition Footage”
showcasing Smith, Jaeger and Lewis’ relaxed rehearsal
sequences and two unsubstantial “Deleted Scenes”
are also included in the bonus features. Check out
“Previews” of other Sony Pictures’ releases
for “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “Reign Over
Me”, “Are We Done Yet?” and “Surf’s
Up”.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer is clear enough without making
the movie any blander, while the audio track is available
in Dolby Digital English, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai 5.1.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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