Back Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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Fever
Pitch
I have dreaded seeing this movie because I am a Yankees fan, and I can't
stand having to watch them lose to the Red Sox AGAIN. If you listen to
Fever Pitch closely, you can hear me
crying in the background as Johnny Damon hits the grand slam to end any hope
the Yankees had of beating the Red Sox and avoiding the ignominy of being
THE ONLY TEAM in baseball history to ever blow a 3-0 series lead in the playoffs
(even though I know it's a film, and I know what happened in real life, I
still found myself hoping the Yankees could find someway to win. It's a
sickness.). Sadly, Fever Pitch doesn't
touch on the pathos of being a baseball fan. It's a romantic comedy where
baseball is just in the way, kinda like Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon stars as Ben - a school teacher and life long Red Sox fanatic. During
the winter off-season, he meets Lindsay (Drew Barrymore) - a workaholic in
the running for a huge promotion at work. Sparks fly, and the two quickly
fall deeply in love, but their relationship faces new challenges when baseball
season starts and the Red Sox start a march to what could be their first
World Series championship in 86 long, pathetic, heartbreaking years. Now,
Lindsay gets to see Ben in all of his angst-ridden glory.
Will true love prevail, or will the two grow apart as their personal quests
become more complicated and require them to spend time apart?
Fever Pitch is a minor league movie where
a major league movie is needed and desired. It's a passable film, but movie
lovers will see the potential for something much greater than what was put
on the screen by directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. While Barrymore is
fantastic, Fallon and the script fall far short of my expectations, and probably
yours, too.
Fallon pales in comparison when standing next to and acting with a true
professional like Barrymore. Without the necessary gravitas and ability to
be serious at the right moments, he is not a believable leading man. Fallon
often has to resort to idiotic, child-like behavior to get laughs, but these
kinds of antics in the real world would make anyone, especially a responsible
successful girlfriend like Lindsay, question his sanity. This takes us out
of that zone where we suspend disbelief to enjoy the movie, but we aren't
willing to disbelieve this much. In key scenes such as when Ben meets Lindsay's
parents or a scene where he and his buddies are at Red Sox spring training,
Fallon's attempts at humor exceed fanatic behavior and are more like those
of an utter moron. Sadly, I think he additionally is left hanging by a weak
script.
Writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (based on the novel by Nick Hornby,
which was also the basis of a MUCH BETTER British version starring Colin
Firth and available on DVD) fail miserably to make us understand why Ben
cares so much about baseball, and balance this with Lindsay's obsession with
her job. One scene in particular, where Ben has an opportunity to tell us
why he is a Red Sox fan (about halfway through while at a game with other
despondent fans), falls far short of its potential. Instead of a magical,
wondrous, captivating monologue that could give us insight into Ben's fanaticism
and cause fans across the world to stand and cheer in recognition (while
also explaining this behavior to non-fans who wonder why he and we care so
much), Mandel and Ganz don't go for the brass ring.
While the pair give us some funny jokes about the Red Sox's heartbreaks over
the years (look for Dennis Eckersley), and some funny lines for the supporting
characters, Ganz and Mandel's dialogue lacks passion, and the story doesn't
capture the thrill of the playoff chase nor Lindsay's thrill of chasing after
her promotion. All of that is pushed aside to make
Fever Pitch more of a run of the mill
romantic comedy with minor pitfalls for characters to overcome in between
some cuddly cute moments where we see the love developing between our heroes.
Without explaining the passion and drive to root for the team, Ben never
gets a fair chance and Lindsay, along with everyone else, cannot truly understand
the movie's underlying tension and why Ben would care so much.
While Fever Pitch falls short on some
major aspects, the Farrelly Brothers and Barrymore deliver a movie with some
laughs. We get to enjoy Ben's apartment, which has been overrun with Red
Sox memorabilia including a replica of the infamous Green Monster, fellow
fans who bring some color to the Fenway Park scenes, and Barrymore charming
us all the way through and bringing depth to the serious scenes. In many
ways, Fever Pitch is the Milwaukee Brewers
of movies. It has some potential, but it will lose more than it wins.
2 Waffles (Out Of
4)
Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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