Lieben und lassen (2006)

Lieben und lassen: Directed by Susannah Grant. With Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Kevin Smith. A woman struggles to accept the death of her fiancé and the secrets he kept from her as she rebuilds her life.

“She has dimples in the right places, an upper lip that looks like a hammer just hit it, and acting not always superior, but she gets the best roles Hollywood can offer a young woman. As that Julia Roberts glides into middle age, her younger version, Jennifer Garner may be the heir apparent but not for her role as the heroine of Catch and Release. Susannah Grant, who penned Juliau0026#39;s triumphant Erin Brockovich, tries to direct Garner as Gray Wheeler, but with much less energy and a poorer script.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWheeler has just before the wedding lost her fiancé to a skiing accident. Not a bad premise that she discovers throughout the film more than she should about his life away from her. As she does about herself as she investigates his finances and romances. The film has nothing new to say about grief or healing, just about unchecked lusts for love and food (the latter the province of Kevin Smith, whose turn as the sloppy, overweight lovable friend, is sometimes funny, as when erotic massage therapist Maureen, played by Juliette Lewis, literally jumps his bones.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat Wheeler falls into the cute arms of Timothy Oliphantu0026#39;s Fritz is a given for this lightweight chick flick that would have us believe she would fall for a womanizer who scores a babe in the bathroom at the funeral while the grieving Wheeler listens aghast behind the shower curtain. That heavy-set Smithu0026#39;s Sam should overeat and have the best ironic comic lines could be predicted the minute you see Clerku0026#39;s director on screen. That 60u0026#39;s Simon and Garfunkel type of music with a message should appeal to the audience of the 21st century, which may not demand character development in order to understand plot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCatch and Release, a multiuse title referring to both the loss and a fishing motif, is a romantic comedy whose romance is low-grade (she just lost her fiancé for goodness sake) and comedy low-ball. Witnessing this failure should make you as sick as Sam after binge eating bags of potato chips.”