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''Summer Catch'' is a 2001 American
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by Michael Tollin and starring Freddie Prinze Jr.,
Jessica Biel Jessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress. Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2007 ...
and Matthew Lillard. The film marked Tollin's feature film
directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
. The setting is the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...
,Van Gelder, Lawrence. "Film in Review: ''Summer Catch''," ''The New York Times'', Friday, August 24, 2001.
Retrieved June 11, 2020
but the majority of the film was shot in Southport, North Carolina.


Plot

Ryan Dunne is a local baseball player who dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. He helps his dad with his landscaping business and takes care of Veteran's Field, where his team, the
Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...
play. Ryan, in his dedication to making the pros, has sworn off girls and drinking to avoid distractions. This changes when he sees Tenley Parrish, as he and his father are mowing the Parrish family's lawn. The next day, the A's have their first game of the season where rival Van Leemer shines pitching a shut-out, while Ryan is told to walk the stands for donations. That evening Ryan and Tenley have their first kiss. The next night Ryan is pitching in his first game of the season. The game goes well for the A's until the last inning when he gives up a grand slam, allowing the other team to win the game. He returns home to find his dad drunk and upset about the loss. Later, Ryan visits Tenley, where he confides about his rocky relationship with his father and fear of failing as a baseball player. The next night, they take a swim in her pool in the rain, falling in love, before being chased off by her dad. Ryan is distracted by Tenley and feels a lot of pressure from scouts, family, the Parrish family, and friends. Told he's starting for an upcoming big game, Ryan starts well, but comes apart later on. The loss causes him to be demoted to the bullpen in a relief position. Despite the bad outing, Hugh Alexander, a scout for the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
in attendance, shows interest in Ryan. Eric Van Leemer and Dale Robin are kicked off the team not only for their bad behavior, but also for accidentally burning down a press box, so Ryan is designated to start the final game, as he has the freshest arm and the most rest. Tenley tells Ryan that she's leaving for San Francisco for a job the following night, also the night of the final game. She tells him to let himself be great, before tearfully hugging him goodbye. Inspired by Tenley's words of encouragement, Ryan pitches one of the best performances ever seen in the Cape League, dominating the game with a no-hitter. His friends, dad and brother, and several major league scouts, including Alexander, are in attendance. Late in the game, he notices that Tenley has stopped by on her way to the airport to watch him. He proceeds to strike out the current batter, marking his eleventh strike-out of the game, and looks back to see that Tenley has gone. Ryan rushes to the airport where he catches Tenley before she boards her plane. They both profess their love for each other and she agrees to forgo her job in San Francisco and stay. Ryan's dad and brother soon arrive with the scout Alexander, to tell him that his team won the game with a combined no-hitter. Alexander offers Ryan a contract with the Phillies that will start him out at their minor league affiliate, which he happily accepts.
Later Later may refer to: * Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the futur ...
, everyone is gathered to watch Ryan in his Major League debut as a relief pitcher for the Phillies. He delivers his first pitch to Ken Griffey Jr., who launches it into the stands for a home run.


Cast

Phillies players Mike Lieberthal, Doug Glanville, and Pat Burrell, along with outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., make appearances at the end of the film. Other notable cameos in the movie include Kevin Youkilis, Curt Gowdy,
Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
and Carlton Fisk.


Production

The film was not filmed in New England because the spring season was too cold so the actual production site was in Southport, North Carolina. The Chatham A's baseball field that was used in the film was actually built from a field that had been abandoned for about 20 years. Within about eight weeks the field was complete with batting cages and a press box ready to film. Since the filming of the movie, the field has once again been abandoned and is simply an overgrown field. The majority of the people cast for the roles of the teammates were actual minor-league baseball players. Only seven of the 35 people cast for the roles of the teammates were actors. The baseball players had to attend a four-week training camp during which they learned how to ignore the cameras on the field and to feel and act more as a team. All of the actors had to practice every day. Prinze was reportedly paid $2 million for his performance.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 8% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "A clichéd and predictable sports comedy that's mostly devoid of excitement or laughs, ''Summer Catch'' is strictly bush-league." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 21 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Lawrence Van Gelder of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote that it was "figuratively and literally a minor league movie." He opened his critique by stating, "Take the romantic impulse behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's story '' Winter Dreams''. Add some
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
small-town social stratification from John P. Marquand's novel ''Point of No Return''. Add a pinch of lusty Apple Annies from ''
Bull Durham ''Bull Durham'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film written and directed by Ron Shelton. The film stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher from the AAA Richmond Braves, brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calv ...
'' and some townie-preppy animosity from '' Good Will Hunting''. Then bury the whole thing under a mound of standard-issue parent-child conflicts and enough self-help
cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...
s to drive
Polonius Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is the chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the cou ...
to the aquavit barrel at Elsinore. Sprinkle with half-baked characters and a predictably odds-defying outcome, and the result is ''Summer Catch''." Joe Leydon of '' Variety'' was more forgiving with his analysis, but explained, "With its haphazard mix of boisterously crude comedy, romantic entanglements, class-conscious clashes and intensely competitive hardball, pic plays like it was inspired by a late-night channel surf through '' Major League'', ''Bull Durham'', '' One Crazy Summer'' and some late-’50s wrong-side-of-the-tracks meller." He praised George Fenton’s score and the film's humor, singling out Matthew Lillard, Brittany Murphy and Beverly D'Angelo. Marc Savlov of ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' gave the movie one and a half stars out of five, adding, "Baseball, summer, apple pie, and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s bare butt – what could be more American? Toss in a brief glance at Matthew Lillard's equally nekkid behind and you've got a better-late-than-never entry in the clichéd teen love-story genre that, while generally inoffensive, is nonetheless so cloyingly heartfelt that it's all you can do not to giggle every time someone makes a prophetic, lovestruck proclamation (of which there are many)."


Box office

The film opened at #6 at the U.S. box office raking in $7 million in its opening weekend. ''Summer Catch'' went on to gross $19 million worldwide, failing to bring back its $34 million budget.


Home media

''Summer Catch'' was released on VHS and DVD on December 4, 2001.


Soundtrack

* Sweet Summer - Radford * Jump (The Velvet Rope) - Clara Star a.k.a. Seven and the Sun * Would You...? - Touch and Go * Straight To... Number One - Touch and Go * Bohemian Like You -
The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...
* Soul Sound -
Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...
*
Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film '' Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show ...
-
The Clarks The Clarks are an American rock band from the Pittsburgh region, originating at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of thirty-plus years, they have produced eleven studio albums, two live albums, 2 compilation albums, an EP, and ...
* Mr. Hawkins -
Uncle Kracker Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker; since 1999, he has recorded as a solo artis ...
* Another Day -
Nine Days Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. It was formed in the hamlet of St. James, Suffolk County, New York in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and released three independent albums in ...
* Anything and Everything -
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
* Everytime She Walks -
Fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...
* I Like It - The Miami Allstars * Going Back to Cali -
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
and
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...
* Over My Head - Semisonic * Makes No Difference -
Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...
* The Whole Enchilada - Brett Laurence * Wild Blue Night - Trina Harmon, Dillon O'Brian, and Matthew Gerrard * Skin -
Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed (lead vocalist) and Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist), Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), a ...
* Tell Her This -
Diffuser Diffuser may refer to: Aerodynamics * Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties * Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds * The channel bet ...
* What It Beez Like - Tarsha Vega * Sometimes - Michael Franti and Spearhead * Lovin' Each Day - Ronan Keating


See also

* List of baseball films


References


External links

* * * * {{Philadelphia Phillies 2001 films 2001 directorial debut films 2001 romantic comedy films 2000s sports comedy films American baseball films American romantic comedy films American sports comedy films Films directed by Michael Tollin Films scored by George Fenton Films set in Massachusetts Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in North Carolina Films shot in Ohio Films with screenplays by John Gatins Philadelphia Phillies 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language romantic comedy films English-language sports comedy films