Grade: B- | Many times, people find out more about the people they know after a person dies than they ever knew when he or she was alive. Sometimes, this makes it hard to maintain the original vision of that person.

“Catch and Release” takes this concept and shows what can happen when a person finds out the one they were in love with was not who they thought. Jennifer Garner plays a woman who has lost her fiancé and realizes that he had a few skeletons in his closet.

The biggest secret is that he has been supporting a woman who is supposedly the mother of his child, a fact unknown to Garner’s character, Gray Wheeler. While Garner’s facial expressions can be painful to watch, she does a wonderful job playing a character pushed past her breaking point.

Overall, the movie is interesting, real and often funny, but it throws in twists that don’t belong. Whether with suicide attempts or confessions of love, the movie seems to try to make up for something that isn’t actually lacking.

Timothy Olyphant, who plays Fritz, seems to be the perfect match for Garner because, like her, his facial expressions are also painful to watch. Although it makes the movie interesting, only to wonder whose face will crack first.

While pieces of the plot have been used in virtually every romantic comedy, the movie brings a new flavor and feel to these conventions. The audience feels for the characters because each are relatable in their own way. Kevin Smith, widely known for his portrayal of “Silent Bob” in his own films, provides much of the comic relief as Sam, a dynamic character having trouble mourning the loss of a close friend.

This movie does a good job of not trying to do too much by jumping from its original intention. While it is not mind-blowing or amazing, the movie is effective as a romantic comedy.