Catch and Release

My daughters and I agree that Catch and Release is one of our favorite romantic comedies. I haven’t seen it in a few years so was thrilled to find it at the library. I’ve watched and analyzed it this week and it was just what I needed to chill and get back into my writing routine.

The scenery and soundtrack of this movie are worth savoring.

There are great props, like the sticky front door, and every character is nice.

This is a story where nothing really happens as the credits open at the funeral  of the main character – Grady. On first viewing, it seems to be the main character is Gray, and the story is the romance between her and Fritz. But all conflict springs from Grady, after his death, as each character now has to find out who they are on their own without this larger than life friend, who none of them really knew.

The humor is wonderful and the subplot romance of Sam and Maureen is way cool. It’s a great movie to study for the nuance of body language and how much information can be revealed in fingertips and eyebrows.

From Grady’s funeral, which was supposed to be his wedding day to Gray, until the final memorial in the peace garden a few weeks later, all the characters transform as they come to know the real Grady, and his big secrets. As they learn about the friend they lost, they redefine themselves as individuals, instead of through their relationship with Grady.

There’s lots of great scenes, verbal and herbal zingers, and a wonderful male-bonding-brawl. The final lyrics, “I want to live where the soul meets body…” adds just the right flavor of transformation every character has now experienced.