In Catch and Release, Jennifer Garner stars as Gray Wheeler who, as the film opens, is grieving the recent death of her fiancé, Grady. Against the backdrop of beautiful and lush Boulder, Colorado, she comes to grips with her loss surrounded by a group of Grady’s friends. There’s Sam (the excellent Kevin Smith), the wisecracking, inspirational quote writer, and Dennis (Sam Jaeger), the quiet, brooding shy-type. And then there’s Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), Grady’s childhood friend and L.A.-living womanizer who makes a lasting first impression on Gray when she catches him having a tryst with a caterer at the post-funeral reception.

As she and their friends deal with the sudden loss of their friend, she learns through Fritz that Grady had more than a few skeletons in his closet. The realization that her fiancé was less than perfect leaves her reeling—not only has she lost him physically but he was not the person she thought he was—in a sense, in her eyes anyway, he has died twice. And to top it off, she finds herself falling for the one person she despises the most—Fritz.

Well-written and directed by Susannah Grant (Oscar-nominated screenwriter for Erin Brockovich), the film, for the most part, skillfully balances tragedy and comedy. Laugh out loud moments come from Smith who basically plays himself—most of his one-liners were certainly written (or improvised) by him. Garner is at her best in the lighthearted moments but is often unable to capture the grief of Gray. At times, she seems oddly detached emotionally. Olyphant portrays the slick-talking Fritz well with his smarmy smile and Hollywood hair. Juliette Lewis is a breath of fresh air as the trailer trash single mom with the heart of gold who emerges from Grady’s past.

Catch and Release has a rich combination of comedic moments (thank God for Kevin Smith!) and tragic heartbreak as Gray sorts out the broken pieces of her life while trying to cope and reassemble her future—a future that looks nothing like what she planned. Funny how God has a way of changing plans.

Grady and his friends are avid fisherman and the idea of “catch and release” takes on new meaning in Gray’s life. In her unexpected tragic situation, she learns to “catch” the spontaneous, unplanned moments in life that take her by surprise. She also learns to “release” the unrealistic expectations of unrealized dreams and to let go of her anger and bitterness toward Grady. In learning that Grady was not the man she thought, she also realizes that she is not the woman she thought she was. It is this that enables her, a flawed woman to find new love in a flawed man like Fritz. The thematic elements of forgiveness, reconciliation and unconditional love in Catch and Release help make it a truly romantic comedy.