Summer Catch

When i saw this movie, i thought it was gonna be great, i went to the theater with my friends and we were all set to see it and be amazed by Freddie Prinze Jr., when we got out of the theater, we demanded a refund, this movie had a stupid plot, bad acting, and it was a bad job choosing the actors for the parts of the movie.

Quite possibly one of the worst movies of all time. I was looking at the worst 100 list, and "MANOS THE HANDS OF FATE" is easily better than this, which seems to me to basically be stock footage off all the other teen sex romps of the past ten years spliced together and repackaged to pay for some studio exec's new mercedes. For your own good, dont see this movie. Read a book instead.

The movie "Summer Catch" is a love story that combines the trials of a college baseball player trying to make the majors. The movie takes place in Chatum; it is a town where baseball is life. Every year college players come to the Cape League to get their chance at the major leagues. This year Ryan Dunne (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is getting his chance to play for his hometown the Chatum A's. When Ryan has any problems, he takes them on the field and does not pitch as well. He stopped playing baseball for Boston College, because his mother died and he could not focus. Then he got kicked out of junior college, because he got into a fight with a teammate. During the Cape League season, he faces many problems balancing his old friends with new ones. He also faces problems with his father and his girlfriend, Tenley Parish (Jessica Biel). By the end of the movie, he learns to leave those problems off of the field and that he loves Tenley. He realizes that he will do anything to be with her. Also he receives a contract with the minor league team, the Muckdogs. This leads to him starting for the Phillies. The film's intent is to tell the viewer about the troubles that Ryan goes through in his life. It teaches the viewers that some times they need to leave their problems behind and move on. It is also a love story about two people from different worlds and the troubles that their relationship goes through. The movie accomplishes these points very well. It lets the viewer see into the mind of Ryan and lets them feel like they are part of the movie. It also has a suspense level letting the viewer wonder if Ryan and Tenley's relationship will survive. This movie is a very good movie for someone who likes love stories, but there is also the baseball element for the guys. This is also a great movie for a couple to see, because they both learn a lesson from the movie. I would recommend seeing this movie many times.

`Summer Catch' gets points for trying hard, but it is saddled with so many liabilities that it crashes and burns without getting much altitude. The script is a mish mash of tired themes. Small town boy makes good meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks meets baseball underdog gets big break. The film tries to bill itself as another `Bull Durham' but it has none of the subtlety, comedy or insider perspective of that film. Mostly this is just another lightweight Freddie Prinze, Jr. romantic comedy where Jessica Biel is the catch of the day. Prinze plays his standard romantic hero role and tries to throw in some baseball. He is fair at both but keeps getting outshined by his supporting cast. I've never really understood the big sensation over Jessica Biel. She shows in this film that her acting is far inferior to her looks. Biel and Prinze interact like marble statues, nice to look at but no chemistry whatever. The best performances were given by supporting cast members. Fred Ward does a terrific job as Ryan's dad. Brian Dennehy is always fabulous in supporting roles and does not disappoint as the coach of the A's. Brittany Murphy does a fantastic wild thing, with a provocative earthiness that is simultaneously seductive and cute. There is not much substance here. The baseball scenes are weak and the romance is tepid. The film has some endearing moments but fails to distinguish itself except that it gets goofy far too often. I rated it a 5/10. Fans of Prinze and Biel will enjoy seeing them look sexy for an hour and three quarters. Others might want to miss it.

I did not plan to comment on this movie. In fact, I planned to stay as far as possible away from anything remotely concerning it. But after seeing comments praising it I feel I must say something. This film is like three different films. A mushy teen romance that not even I (a teenager) could fall for, a sports film, and a * film - none of which seem to be connected in anyway. My friends and I went to see this because a friend of mine loves Freddie Prinze, Jr. She spent days apologizing profusely for it. We can't talk about plot holes because there is not a plot to find holes in. Perhaps a more feasible exercise would be to try and find the places where it made sense. The dialogue was corny and crude by turns - jerking back and forth between the two with no apparent attention whatsoever. Trying to summarize the story now in my head, I can't do it. I am not a big fan of sports, but I do like sports movies. I love Tin Cup and it doesn't even take much inducement for me to watch The Mighty Ducks once in awhile. But in Summer Catch, even to someone who understands the game (what was it again? baseball?) would be entirely lost. The sex scenes, inserted at random moments are so perverse that I will not go into detail. Just thinking about them now makes my skin crawl. Of course the thought of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in a thong doesn't help matters much. (If you're a teenaged girl you might think differently - trust me, from one teenaged girl to another it's not a pleasant sight.) The theater was practically empty except for my group of friends and another group of people whom we knew who happen to be actresses (I go to an arts school). We were all shell-shocked for weeks afterward, and any time we come even close to the subject of bad movies, this one is always first to come up. After leaving the theater, we told everyone we could find, "We just saw the WORST movie ever made." One good thing - I laughed more in it than I've ever laughed in anything. The writing, acting, directing, editing, even the costumes were bad. Amidst my revulsion, I simply couldn't help laughing, it was so horrible. Any respect that I may have had for anyone involved in this movie has gone down 100%. I gave it 1/10 but it deserves less. And by the way, my friend doesn't love Freddie Prinze, Jr. anymore.

First of all, this is a great movie. It's about the Cape Cod baseball league and it really caught my attention when it first came out, and I've had the luxury of recently seeing it. I vacation on Cape Cod every summer with my family and even though the whole movie wasn't shot on the Cape, i greatly enjoyed the scenes that were and there were some nice background shots in Chatham. Freddie Prinze Jr., and Matthew Lillard are cool dudes and I love Jessica Biel. I think she is so beautiful, she has that girl-next door look to her, which I love. Thumbs up for Summer Catch.

I litrelly jumped out of my seat for joy the nanosecond I saw the first credit! the plot was way to jumpy and non sencical I found my self reminsing on by past get togethers to entertain my self! I left the room three times during the movie once to just put a cup in the sink! I am sorry if my reveiw has little to do with the movie but I know five pepole who have seen this move (six incuding me) and not one liked it!

I grew up on Cape Cod. First of all Summer Catch was filmed in North Carolina not the Cape. One Crazy Summer (John Cusack/Demi Moore) was filmed in my hometown on the Cape but I hear the unions make it near impossible to film in Massachusetts now. Some of the pictures of fields and buildings were really from Chatham however. Much of Summer Catch rings true. Very few Cape kids actually have ever played in the Cape League. It is elite baseball. The summer on the Cape is full of babes and booze just like the film shows. The rich of the rich have summer homes on Cape Cod (like Rand in the film)and I was a "lawn boy" just like Freddie Prinz back in the 80s but not good enough to make the Cape League baseball. I could relate to this film and enjoyed it thoroughly. It brought me back to the parties and warm summer nights on the Cape that have a feeling like no where else on Earth. Rent it or catch it on HBO like I did. As for Ms Biel I am a fan for life and I hope she has a great career and maybe comes down to the Cape and parties with us sometime. She burns up the screen. I saw Scooby Doo before this film so seeing Shaggy catching and Fred pitch it made movie a little funny and I ws waiting for Scooby to run on field. Final Analysis...Summer Catch is a Grand Slam!!!

Summer Catch is, by far, the worst film I've seen since Exit Wounds. It made me ashamed to watch movies and if I ever saw it again I would surely take my own life. I will not even dignify this "flick" by summarizing the plot. All I will say is I have seen better writing on cancelled UPN sitcoms. As far as the acting is concerned, Freddie Prinze Jr. is the worst young "actor" this side of Britney Spears. The thing that saddens me most is that it took me a while to realize that. Jessica Biel is hot and always bra-less and horribly melodramatic. After the Tremors sequels, I didn't think Fred Ward could be in a worse movie. John C. McGinley is the only good actor in this movie but his part is so small (yes, there are small parts) and badly written that even his acting skills couldn't save it. Now I have some questions. How did they get Hank Aaron in this movie? I'm a huge baseball fan and having him play a tiny part in it is a disgrace and irresponsible. This film proves to me that the Hollywood machine in this N'Sync driven society of recent years will take any lame script and any young "bankable" named actor and waste a perfectly good opportunity to make a quality film. Next time Hollywood producers, save your money, and leave Hank Aaron out of it.

`Summer Catch' is yet ANOTHER `coming of age' movie, albiet with a attractive cast and some pretty funny humor. Freddie Prinze, Jr. leads an attractive, talented cast in a story which is one third `Bull Durham, one third `Porky's' and one third `every boy from the wrong side of the tracks meets rich girl movie you've ever seen." Considering it's pedigree, it's surprising this movie was made within the bounds of a PG-13 rating. Perhaps, that's part of the problem. Just when you are expecting it to open up and get REALLY raunchy, it backs away. Certainly, there is NO problem with the cast. Freddy Prinze, Jr. is quite earnest as Ryan Dunne, the `yard boy' turned pitcher; however, despite the slight accent, he's not particularly believable as an Irishman. As Prinze's love interest, Tenley Parrish, Jessica Biel brings the same qualities to the screen as Jamie Lee Curtis, in more ways than two. Once you get past the stunning figure (well showcased, briefly, in a bikini), you realize she's a real person, and a quite likeable one. Matthew Lillard is very funny as Billy Brubaker, as is Marc Blucas as Miles Dalrymple, Gabriel Mann as Auggie and Jed Rhein as Pete. Brittany Murphy makes an appropriately "local bar tramp," and Beverly D'Angelo (an incredibly well preserved 48) as the movie's `Mrs. Robinson'. Zita Gray is cute as Jessica Biel's little sister, Katie. Even Randi Layne makes a favorable impression in a VERY small role as Jessica's mother. Please don't let me forget the contributions of Brian Dennehy, Fred Ward, Bruce Davison and Jason Getrick. One of the BIG problems with `Summer Catch' is the repetitiveness of the subplotting. You don't get just ONE example of the `boy virgin meets ‘Mrs. Robinson,' you get FIVE. The same goes for the `big talk about your career problems scene,' `local bar tramp causes the jock to miss his appointment,' etc. Perhaps that's why the movie seems overlong, which is a killer for a comedy. HOWEVER, I can't remember another movie I've seen recently in which I can remember the names of so many of the characters. That counts for a lot with me...