Summer Catch Parent Guide

Parent Movie Review
by Donna Gustafson

Besides being a resort destination for the rich, Cape Cod’s claim to fame is an elite amateur baseball team comprised of some of the best college contenders in the country. Ryan Dunne (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is the first local boy in years lucky enough to show off his pitching skills in this prime picking ground for big league scouts.

If you think this last chance to cut loose from his lawn mowing day job and achieve his life’s dream will be sufficient motivation to help him focus on his game, you’re wrong. Ryan’s resolve quickly dissolves with the offer of beer and a good time from his buddies and the town hussy. This Summer Catch offers a mitt full of distractions including self-pity, anger mismanagement, and Tenley Parish (Jessica Biel), the bra-neglecting daughter of his wealthiest customer.

Yet it’s hard to blame Ryan for getting sidetracked when the entire script seems to suffer from the same problem. More interested in the off-diamond play of the characters, the movie features an innocent young ballplayer who is invited to share in his house-mom’s sexual obsessions that involve vegetables, a young man whose attraction to overweight females provides plenty of occasions for his teammates to make condescending remarks, a couple of beer-drinking cooler-toting buddies, and a young woman whose trademarks are straddling her date in order to pour beer into his mouth from a bottle clasped between her knees and exchanging her thong for her sexual partner’s underwear (adding some cheeky rear male nudity and some tight front shots to the mix). The bar plays such a pivotal position to the plot that this much-frequented setting is the backdrop for a brawl resulting from team rivalry.

Including the portrayal of meddling parents that are critical of their children’s choices, some colorful language and many crude expressions, Summer Catch offers a trite “believe in yourself” philosophy, and “let’s get a beer” as the solution to life’s frustrations. It tries to appeal to its young audience by covering all the bases: a rebellious attitude, sex, beer… oh! and baseball.

Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Biel. Running time: 104 minutes. Theatrical release August 24, 2001. Updated July 17, 2017

About author

Donna Gustafson

Donna Gustafson has been involved with her husband Rod's work since the beginning. Handling many of the behind-the-scenes tasks, she also creates preview pages for up-coming movies, acts as managing editor and occasionally writes reviews.

Summer Catch
Rating & Content Info

Why is Summer Catch rated PG-13? Summer Catch is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sexual content, language and some drinking.

Overall: D+
A local poor boy who has the chance to play baseball in an amateur league that might give him a shot at the majors, falls for an out-of-town rich girl who is hoping to take a vacation from her fathers plans for her future, in a film that features more sex and beer drinking than baseball.

Violence: B
Distracted driver of lawnmower collides with birdfeeder. Father and son have angry conversation. Baseball players often tease or antagonize one another, especially one young man attracted to overweight girls. Crowd teases child dressed as team mascot. Baseball player falls over fence to make catch. Bar brawl erupts between baseball players. Paper money set on fire. Wooden bat broken in anger. Man threatens to call police to scare off intruder. Dim-witted character suggests cutting off his arm in order to qualify for competition in Special Olympics. Player hit with baseball. Drunken players and their dates break into store, accidentally setting it on fire.

Sexual Content: D+
College-aged baseball players are billeted with forty-something woman whose sexual habits involve vegetables later served as food to guests. She constantly tries to seduce the young boys and it’s implied she’s successful on a couple of occasions. Lead female character seldom wears bra, other females wear sleeveless or midriff-bearing summer fashions throughout film, and male characters often seen shirtless. On at least four occasions a girl dressed in short skirt and tight top straddles young man, pouring beer into his mouth from bottle held between her knees. Girl tries to convince young man he may be missing an opportunity by sensually sitting on his lap and putting her cleavage-revealing shirt at eye level. Shirtless man and bra-wearing woman in sleeping bag fight over pair of boxer shorts. Man wearing only woman’s thong underwear runs around baseball field, in later scene his buttocks are clearly shown. Girl shown in bra and boxers. Sexual lyrics in background music accompanies shot of bikini clad female. Girl demands boy return her underwear. Young man asked about his virginity. Several depictions of kissing between unmarried couples, couple of scenes end with implied sexual encounter. Young man mentions catching crabs from promiscuous female character. Unmarried couple engages in sexual banter, then she kisses and licks his face. Girl wraps legs around boy. Boy sensually undresses behind air mattress before going skinny-dipping. Full frontal shot of another young man wearing only woman’s thong underwear. Silhouette of girl undressing behind curtain shown while man reads sexual poem. Lingerie clad female throws herself on top of shirtless man in bed—her buttocks clearly shown. Girl undresses to tight t-shirt and panties and boy to boxer shorts before going swimming. Nude portrait hangs on bedroom wall. Girl sits on boy’s lap, he rests his head on her chest, then they kiss. Man declares he likes massive women. Sexual lyrics heard in closing credit music.

Language: D+
Many derogatory statements made about overweight females. At least: 1 extreme sexual obscenity and finger gesture, 11 moderate and 13 mild profanities, 5 uses of rude bathroom terms, 4 rude slang terms, 12 rude sexual terms, and three terms of Deity used as expletives.

Alcohol / Drug Use: D+
Many scenes set in bar where main and incidental characters are drinking, often to excess. Background characters smoke. Main characters often invite one another to go get a beer, or make reference to having drunk beer. Father figure who lost his wife is shown drinking, dependence on alcohol implied. Two male fans drag cooler everywhere they go, and constantly drink from beer bottles. Many characters drive immediately after drinking.

Page last updated July 17, 2017