Fever Pitch (2005)

FEVER PITCH

2005 - USA

Directors: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Amanda Bynes, Robin Williams, Jim Broadbent, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti

- Reviewed by Vickie

Fever Pitch All the way through Fever Pitch I kept thinking to myself, “Was Adam Sandler not available for this film?” Because it’s obvious that this would have been another ideal Sandler-Barrymore romantic-comedy vehicle (in the same way that The Terminal would have been better with Meg Ryan, and not Catherine Zeta-Jones, as the flight attendant wooed by Tom Hanks). Instead, Jimmy Fallon gets the leading-man duties and doesn’t *quite* hit one all the way out of the park.

Adapted from the novel by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) and directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (Stuck on You), the film stars Fallon as Ben Wrightman, a math teacher and wildly obsessed fan of the Boston Red Sox. In fact, to call him a superfan would be an understatement. During the off-season, Ben meets Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore), a successful corporate professional tired of dating male versions of herself, and the two begin seeing each other after a vomit-filled first date (seriously). As they grow closer, Lindsey’s Greek chorus of friends (Ione Skye, Marissa Jaret Winokur and KaDee Strickland, who’s overly tanned and doing nothing to redeem herself for her unstellar work in Anacondas) wonder what’s secretly wrong with Ben. Surely, they reason, something must be amiss if he’s still single and “on the market” at his age, and they plant the seed of panic in Lindsey’s brain.

Of course, his deep dark secret is his unbridled adoration of the BoSox – something Lindsey considers minor until the extent of his fandom becomes clear and he begins to put baseball ahead of his relationship with her. Thus, trouble and romantic tribulation ensue.

There were many things I liked about Fever Pitch, not the least of which is Barrymore. She’s adorably befuddled and optimistic and, as ever, a very appealing lead perfectly suited for a movie like this. I liked the story itself (even though it’s been “revised” from Hornby’s British source material), which was nicely paced, cleverly executed and quite funny with a real underlying sweetness to it. There were also several moments in the film that literally had me laughing in a way that made me the loudest voice in the theater.

But there were also a few things I didn’t like, not the least of which is Fallon, who went back and forth between being charming and being a twitchy mess. Like his former SNL co-star, Horatio Sanz, Fallon always seems like he’s on the verge of busting out laughing at his own jokes. He has a perpetual half-smirk through much of the film, and his trademark mannerisms (i.e., jittery, jerky movement + rapid-fire speaking voice) became distracting. I just wanted him to CALM DOWN…for someone to replace his espresso with decaf, or make sure he stayed away from the sugary snacks at the craft service table. It was during these moments, especially, that I longed for the comparative calm and self-assuredness of Adam Sandler. (Who’d have thunk anyone anywhere would ever type those words??)

There were also a couple of Farrelly-esque moments that didn’t seem to gel with the rest of the film and consequently stuck awkwardly out – a teacher being beaned in the face with a football, Lindsey’s extended vomiting, Lindsey being beaned in the face with a baseball, to name a few. I realize things like that come with the Farrelly territory, but I kind of wish they’d left them out and stuck with the tone of the rest of the movie.

Overall, though, Fever Pitch’s good parts solidly outweigh its less-than-amazing ones, and Drew Barrymore continues her reign as a romantic comedy heroine. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that her usual leading man is available when the next role like this one comes along.

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