this feature is like a double header , two sets of clich ? s for the price of one . 
not only do we get the usual tired sports chestnuts , but the banal rich girl-poor boy love story is tossed in for good measure . 
an original moment in this loser is as rare as a chicago cubs world series appearance . 
the screenplay by kevin falls and john gatins , based on a story by falls , merely lobs 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 all this nonsense leads , then you need a remedial course in film viewing . 
as always prinze is pretty to look at , but his performance mainly consists of facial expressions : 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 . 
every pitch is predictable . 
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 .