Summer Catch is a rom-com that forgets both parts and is neither romantic or funny. It circumvents each typical stage of the rom-com, thinking it is clever, but merely underlines why these cliches and conventions are used in films. Typically, a rom-com starts with a meet cute. This one is very conventional with a poor boy meeting a rich girl, which leads to some of the developments that follow. The Lawn Boy as Forbidden Fruit is definitely a theme here. Instead of just meeting in a strange awkward way, the first meeting is lecherous with him killing some flowers with a lawnmower and striking a birdhouse while ogling Jessica Biel's yumm-o-licious bod. Later they meet at the bar. Both kind of circumvent normal conventions. Jessica, despite her yumminess, is definitely the aggressor and chasing him, even commenting on it since some of the dimmer audience members probably missed it. Again, this is unusual, but complications like a disapproving father (complete with a bargain to stop seeing the daughter) and a preferred boyfriend from the past and controlling elements are quite normal. What isn't normal is the ex-boyfriend really isn't seen enough to understand why he's so hated...but they double down on daddy's disapproval. Finally, the final act of love is not a run through an airport, but leaving a game and going to the tarmac of a private airport. This is also kind of botched as he just kind of shows up and literally does a "how are you doin'?" The other half of the movie, the sports part, is also terrible. Here the story is Freddie Prinze Jr. being a local, while the rest of the players are richer (presumably, but not necessarily) college players in a league of some repute in Cape Cod. The idea is he self destructs with bad behavior and he needs to get over it. We see this a grand sum of once with being late to the first practice, distracted by a young (which there is nothing else of) Brittany Murphy who died much too young in her career. While egregious, not exactly Wild Thing from Major League in self destructive behavior. He becomes buddy with a very charismatic Matthew Lillard which completes our horror three at the center of the film. Prinze from I Know What You Did Last Summer, Biel from TCM, and Lillard from Scream lock this movie in time and to the genre. Marc Blucas and Christian Kane in the supporting cast also have serious horror credits as well. The running gags all summarily stall. The girl trying out multiple mascot uniforms is lame in ways that should be studied by science so these errors are never made again. The chubby chaser jumping up on a table to declare his love of large women will not end up for Oscar consideration next to Sally Field holding up a Union sign any time soon, either. Beverly D'Angelo's turn as a cougar similarly doesn't stick the landing but at least she aquits herself well during her scene. The adult cast fares better with their material. Particularly, a scene with more horror superstars, Bruce Davison and Fred Ward is handled well in their confrontation and Brian Dennehy's impassioned speeches are generally well done, but again the material holds him back. Why would he yell at the rest of the team when two guys, that he already bounced from the roster, have screwed up monumentally comes off as false and serious overacting. The continued harping about Prinze's "pissing away an opportunity" is lazy writing. Really, he seems rather earnest...to make this point, we need to see him actually screwing up instead of just hearing about past transgressions. He does show good sense at the end of the day, though, pulling himself out of the game due to an excessive pitch count and not just getting a perfect game that no one in the world ever cares about. I did like that they didn't have the typical "he goes on to be a superstar" ending these flicks generally have...yet another subversion of expectation--this one only partially sticks the landing.

>"If you want big rewards, you gotta take big risks." Typical early 2000's movie. It has Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard and pop punk playing in the background. I got annoyed watching this because everyone keeps telling him he is not taking risks but he is doing the exact thing that they are asking him to do.