Summer Catch

Fans of Freddie Prinze Jr. will no doubt enjoy Summer Catch, which features Freddie running through sprinklers on a baseball diamond wearing nothing but an orange thong. Freddie plays Ryan, an aspiring pitcher at baseball camp. Ryan grew up in the New England town that hosts the camp, mowing lawns with his landscaping father, so he's torn between his local friends and his new baseball buddies. Meanwhile, he's being pursued by a rich and beautiful local girl with the odd name of Tenley (Jessica Biel), whose father doesn't approve of her cavorting with the lawn boy. Ryan's an incredibly talented pitcher--everyone agrees, especially his bartending brother who also wanted to play ball but lacked the gift--but he's haunted by fear of failure and the recent loss of his mother. The strong supporting actors (including Matthew Lillard, Brittany Murphy, Brian Dennehy, Fred Ward, and Bruce Davison) do their best, but the script doesn't help. --Bret Fetzer