"That's a nice-a donut."
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Fever Pitch (2005)
Unlike the movie adaptation of author Nick Hornsby's beloved High Fidelity, which hilariously showed that an obsession could be real, healthy, relatable, and even a normal part of life, the adaptation of his Fever Pitch unwittingly shows that an obsession can be fake, annoying, and dull. Directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter, this version of the book (there was also a British one released in 1997) abandons the football (a.k.a. soccer) formula and focuses on one man’s baseball obsession in the midst of a promising relationship.
Ben (Jimmy Fallon) has been a die-hard Red Sox fan ever since he was seven years old; he has lived through much heartache and suffering by the hands of such villains as Bucky Dent and Bill Buckner. Other than that he seems to be a standout decent guy, and even teaches at a high-school, so successful business executive Lindsey (Drew Barrymore) quickly falls for him one Autumn. Things move along into a pretty straightforward romance until Spring Training arrives. That is when Lindsey realizes that his affection for the Sox goes further than just his apartment setup (which looks more like a memorabilia shop) or his prized season tickets not far from the dugout. Ben clearly has an obsession, but they like each other and Lindsey sticks with him, even going to some games with him. Their relationship soon mirrors the 2004 Red Sox regular season, with its ups and downs, but eventually Ben must make a choice between the team he loves and the woman he likes. As you might expect, it's not too hard to predict what happens.
The baseball scenes are literally straight out of FOX, including the loathsome announcers and baseball studio crew. And that is a very bad thing, especially considering that what masquerades as a date movie is really a baseball movie with some romance thrown in for good measure. But it's not very good at that; as far as baseball movies go, Fever Pitch is only mildly better than such tripe as Major League II. This is more an ode to Red Sox nation than a compelling romantic comedy.
One thing I did like about Fever Pitch is that it shines some light on the sports phenomenon in general, and the near-obsessiveness that many sports fans have when it comes to their favorite teams (or players). After all, everyone has heard about some guy who missed half of his own wedding to secretly watch or listen to a game in the hotel bar. The draft day that Ben holds for his friends before every season to determine which home games each person will get tickets for is quite humorous. Fallon comes off as a bit creepy; he just doesn't work as a leading romantic man. Barrymore does her usual - it's the same character of hers that we've seen several times before, even her success with Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer. It's old, but we like it anyway.
But skipping a trip to Paris for a game? That's sick and only serves to distance the viewer from really caring about the relationship. I don't know too many Sox fans, but I'd wager that most of the faithful would be quite embarrassed and would try to distance themselves from this chump. Whereas as High Fidelity's Rob Gordon led the way for a near-perfect Top 5 hit, Ben and Lindsey merely tap a soft grounder back to the mound.
The Verdict: C.
Michael Bentley 4:00 PM
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