Summer Catch Movie Review
Baseball. Love. Sex. Jessica Biel. Brittany Murphy. What more can you ask for? Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Matthew Lillard? Yes, Freddie Prinze, Jr. is still getting movies for some reason or another, but at least this time he did something that could at least appeal to guys: a sports movie.
Summer Catch is a romance comedy about a college baseball player who is looking to make it to the big leagues, but who's mind is distracted by a few things, namely his demanding father and the new girl in town, played by Jessica Biel. As their relationship escalates, he has to deal with her strict father, and with the fact that he has not been playing good enough baseball to be picked up by a scout.
If Freddie Prinze, Jr. wants to be making movies a few years from now, he will have to get out of this romance comedy genre. The studios are bound to catch on at some point that his movies don't make money, and lots of people consider him a terrible actor. In the meantime, though, we continue to get his junk, and I'll continue to review them, and I must say that Summer Catch exceeded my expectation, although my expectations were pretty low.
Prinze is a smart guy; he knows what people think of him. So, in Summer Catch he decided to surround himself with things better than him, such as better actors, sports, and a beautiful co-star who looks very good in a bikini. The romantic element of the movie is no different than in any of his other films, except for maybe that it is even more unrealistic. I'll get to that later. Some of the baseball isn't that bad, but director Michael Tollin sure doesn't know how to film baseball and make it exciting.
Summer Catch on a whole, of course, isn't that great. Some of the lines are pretty bad and the acting isn't all that terrific. It has a lot of clichés, like the overprotective father, the idiotic friends, and so forth. The relationship between Biel and Prinze isn't all that realistic. But, nonetheless, the film is somewhat entertaining; there are a few funny parts, and since the movie does revolve around baseball, it is a little easier to watch than some of Prinze's other films. However, the ending is downright terrible. Absolutely, disgustingly terrible... (spoiler alert)
Prinze is in the ninth inning, pitching a no-hitter. He is two outs away from pitching a no-hitter. But then, suddenly, he realizes he is in love with Biel, who he has only known for two months, so he decides to leave the game and run after her, to tell her he loves her and that he wants to be with her. Of course, she agrees, even though she was about to go to San Fransisco and pursue her dreams, and then a baseball scout offers him some money and Prinze agrees on the spot. Stupid? Yes, definitely stupid. No man in his right mind would ever walk out on a no-hitter.
Summer Catch isn't all that great, but it's a little better than Prinze's other efforts. It would have been a whole lot better if the ending wasn't so downright unbelievable.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.