MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

A gentle romantic drama starring Jennifer Garner and directed by Susannah Grant, Catch and Release follows the fortunes of young thirtysomething Gray Wheeler (Garner), whose idyllic life is thrown into turmoil when her fiancé is accidentally killed on his bachelor party weekend. Struggling to come to terms with the loss, as well as the fact that she may not have known her husband-to-be as well as she thought she did, she turns to his three best friends, Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), Dennis (Sam Jaeger) and Sam (Kevin Smith), to help her move on.

Trance music composer Brian Transeau, better known as “BT”, teamed up with Guns ‘n’ Roses bass player Tommy Stinson to write Catch and Release’s score – which, considering the backgrounds of the composers – turned out to be light and undemanding, with little or no influence from either the trance music or metal scene. Synths, strumming acoustic guitars and soft pianos dominate proceedings, and as befits the tone of the film, the music is hopeful, subtly upbeat and reconciliatory.

Cues such as “Fritz and Gray”, “Ski Skates Mellow”, “River Opening” and “Fritz Leaves” are all quite attractive in their way, but sound more like soft country-rock instrumentals than a traditional film score, and ultimately don’t leave much of an impression once the CD has elapsed its 34 minute running time. It’s very different from the aggressive music BT wrote for The Fast and the Furious in 2001, and different again from the vaguely threatening ambiences he provided for Monster in 2003, but it at least provides something of a new side to the man from Maryland.

Rating: ***

Track Listing:

• Bathroom Intro (0:19)
• Mr. Yummy (1:16)
• Grady’s House (2:43)
• Lawyer’s Office (0:35)
• Maureen’s Messages (1:05)
• Fritz and Gray Walk the Creek (1:58)
• Ski Skates Mellow (0:35)
• Gray Removes Ring (1:13)
• Gray Overhears Maureen (1:00)
• Candlelight Dinner (1:12)
• Gray’s Confessions (2:32)
• River Opening (1:17)
• Gray Ties Mattie’s Shoe (2:18)
• Gray and Fritz Cook (2:07)
• Massage Montage (1:00)
• Sweet Nothings (2:04)
• Dennis and Persephone Date (1:34)
• Farmers Market (1:52)
• Planer Fight (0:44)
• Fritz Leaves (1:44)
• Not His Kid (1:28)
• Maureen Apologizes (2:21)
• Gray’s Memorial Speech (1:13)

Running Time: 34 minutes 11 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-6679 (2007)