Catch and Release is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Susannah Grant, her first film as director, and starring Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Sam Jaeger and Juliette Lewis.
Plot[]
In Boulder, Gray Wheeler attends the funeral of her fiancé, Grady Douglas, on the day they were supposed to be married. Seeking solitude behind a shower curtain, she unfortunately hears Grady's best friend, Fritz, having sex with the caterer.
Eve, Grady's attorney, confirms that, as they were not married, Gray will get nothing. Grady secretly had an investment account with a million dollars in it, which she had known nothing about.
Gray realizes that she can no longer afford to rent the house that they had picked out. With the help of Grady's two close friends, Dennis and Sam, she puts her things into storage and moves in with them. Fritz, currently between directing commercials in California, also comes to stay, causing tension between him and Gray.
Gray discovers that Grady transferred $3,000 every month to an unknown person. Later, finding Grady's phone, she listens to a string of messages from a woman asking about money. Gray asks Fritz for answers (as it is a Los Angeles number), and he reveals that Grady had a son, whose massage therapist mother depended on the money he sent. Fritz tells Gray that the boy is eight and therefore was conceived before she met Grady.
Gray is further troubled when Mrs. Douglas asks her to return the family heirloom engagement ring. She refuses and keeps it. The other woman, Maureen, and her son, Mattie, come looking for Grady. Gray sees Mattie is actually four, and realizes Grady was cheating on her. Confronting Fritz, they end up in a passionate kiss.
Gray does not want anything to do with Maureen, but the guys are reluctant to send the son of their dead friend away so quickly, so they all get to know each other over dinner. Trying to understand how Grady could secretly cheat on her, Gray blurts out her belief that "catch and release" fishermen are cruel and should just eat the fish.
Sam and Maureen have similar scattered personalities and connect well, but he stops her when she initiates sex while Mattie is near. Gray and Fritz become intimate. On a day trip to a river, Sam teaches Mattie to fly fish, while Dennis tells Gray he has feelings for her. He is upset to learn that Gray and Fritz hooked up, but she dismisses it as "less than nothing", not realizing Fritz can hear them. Believing she doesn't care, he returns to Malibu.
Mrs. Douglas insists Mattie take a DNA test before inheriting Grady's money; the test shows Mattie is not his. Maureen has no idea how to find Rafael, the likely father who she had sex with a few days before Grady, and is unsure how to support Mattie without the money. Gray tells Mrs. Douglas to either give money to this child that Grady had loved as his own, or Gray will sell the family engagement ring to help Maureen support him.
Gathering at the dedication ceremony for the peace garden Dennis has built to memorialize Grady, Mrs. Douglas gives Maureen $1 million. She then tells Gray to keep the ring, as she just wanted her boy back. Dennis moves out and Maureen and Mattie move in with Sam, finding new support and keeping the Douglas family money. Gray goes to Malibu and finds Fritz playing with his dog on the beach—they embrace and kiss.
Cast[]
- Jennifer Garner as Gray
- Timothy Olyphant as Fritz
- Kevin Smith as Sam
- Sam Jaeger as Dennis
- Tina Lifford as Eve
- Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Douglas (Ellen)
- Juliette Lewis as Maureen