The January blahs: 'Because I Said So' and 'Catch and Release'

Films at this time of year are generally throwaways; everybody knows that, leftovers, tough sells, bombs, messes.However, we have a particularly stinky and loathsome duo of ‘chick flicks’ landing in the theatres this week and next. First, ‘Catch and Release’ with Jennifer Garner and then ‘Because I Said So’ with Diane Keaton. Here we have reasonably popular stars in movies that look appealing in the trailers. The concepts are interesting, and everyone loves a love story. ‘Catch and Release’ concerns newly widowed Gray (Garner) mourning her husband who discovers more about him than she expected. She is surrounded by funny and supportive friends – they look wistful, romantic, and dreamy and it’s set in the picturesque Colorado mountains.Because ‘I Said So’ sounds like fun, an over protective mother (Keaton), pulling crazy tricks to get her daughters married off. Her daughters indulge her, clucking over how cute but misguided she is. It is set in picturesque Venice, California.Here is what went wrong.The scripts! The tone! The saccharin aftertaste! It’s remarkable that two such similar films should turn up a week apart, both beating the whole idea of love to death.‘Catch and Release’ can’t decide if it’s a comedy or drama or a dramedy – it fails on all fronts because there is no consistency. One minute it’s sexy and fun, the next it’s mournful and bitter - it hits hard, then it whispers – confusion! In its favour, Juliette Lewis creates a fabulously comic character than nearly forces you to forgive the filmmakers.‘Because I Said So’ bills itself as a comedy drama. Comedy is Diane Keaton getting a face full of wedding cake not once or twice but at least four times! It explains why they fall down, get static cling, scream, wave their arms, obsessively re-arrange furniture, compare orgasms and bicker. Hilarious! The shrill level is sky high. And when the filmmakers run out of ideas, they line up the ladies to dance and sing the golden oldies. Remarkable how often that happens in movies.The drama part is the audience checking its watch and the exit doors.Both films are insulting to women. – the leads confuse sex with happiness, and their problems build from here. They are inexplicably naive and express their confusion and exasperation by pouting.Male characters play second fiddle but seem like saintly brainiacs compared to the nutty women.The films would have made better novels than films. They sound better than they look. The words make sense if you look away, but what we see is false.A big part of the problem lies in the actors’ lack of skill in mining meaning from the words. Lazy performances by everyone, except Diane Keaton who is a good sport and makes the best of things and Juliette Lewis, who found something in the words. For the rest, its memory work, tight close-ups and slacker emotion.January has always been a tough month at the movies.