this feature is like a double header , two sets of clich ? s for the price of one . not only do we get <NEG> the usual tired sports chestnuts </NEG> , but the banal rich girl-poor boy love story is tossed in for good measure . <NEG> an original moment in this loser is as rare </NEG> as a chicago cubs world series appearance . the screenplay by kevin falls and john gatins , based on a story by falls , merely <NEG> lobs </NEG> its plotline at the audience . this is a story that needed sent down for seasoning and more coaching . summer catch centers around ryan dunne ( freddie prinze jr . ) , a cape cod youth chosen to participate in the prestigious cape cod baseball league , supposedly a showcase for the best young amateur and college players in the country . ryan is a blue-collar kind of guy . he works with his dad taking care of the lawns of cape cod's rich and famous . he also , as we are informed early , his own worst enemy . he has the potential and the talent , but always seems to self-destruct at the crucial moment . so , ryan tries to remained focused on baseball . then he meets tenley parrish ( jessica biel ) , daughter of one of the blue bloods whose lawn he manicures . tenley , a name only a hack screenwriter could invent , is unlike her snobbish counterparts and falls for ryan . if you can't figure out where <NEG> all this nonsense </NEG> leads , then you need a remedial course in film viewing . as always prinze is pretty to look at , but <NEG> his performance mainly consists of facial expressions </NEG> : puppy dog love , heartbreak , frustration , self-loathing or determination . biel cries a lot , while bruce davison merely acts smarmy as her class-conscious father . the only beacon is matthew lillard's fun-loving billy brubaker , the team's catcher . summer catch borrows situations and stylings from other baseball movies , such as bull durham and the natural . no curve balls here , no sliders . <NEG> every pitch is predictable </NEG> . a blind umpire could call this movie . summer catch is strictly rookie league moviemaking . it has as much chance of making the movie hall of fame as the dodgers have of moving back to brooklyn .
