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Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Fever Pitch
By Craig Younkin Published April 9, 2005
US Release: April 8, 2005
Directed by: Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly
Starring: Drew Barrymore , Jimmy Fallon
PG-13
Running Time: 107 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $42,071,069
Directed by: Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly
Starring: Drew Barrymore , Jimmy Fallon
PG-13
Running Time: 107 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $42,071,069
C+
This isn't a fluff piece, but neither one of its characters is interesting enough to sustain an entire movie.
Jimmy Fallon has always struck me as a poor man?s Adam Sandler, which explains why he is now starring opposite Sandler's regular romantic comedy co-star Drew Barrymore in "Fever Pitch.? The two are allowed to do what they do best ? act cute in front of the camera while the audience looks on and wonders what the hell is so funny about two nice and boring people. Another question is why are the Farrelly brothers all of a sudden going for such saccharine entertainment? These are the guys who did "Kingpin" and "Dumb and Dumber? ? they should be writing the next great diarrhea sight gag, not wasting time on a comedy with no laughs to speak of.
This was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. It's the story of Ben Wrightman (Fallon), a high school teacher who on a class field trip meets Lindsey Meeks (Barrymore), who is a big business yuppie unhappy with the current state of her love life. Willing to try anything, she accepts a date from Ben only to find that he is a nice, caring fellow who will do anything for her. This starts a long and healthy relationship until the day when baseball spring training starts and Ben reveals his dark secret.
Ben has been a Red Sox fan since the age of 12. The Red Sox have been the only constant thing in his life, leaving very little room for love outside of baseball. Lindsey is willing to handle this, however, working around her busy schedule to attend games with him and cope with his insane apartment, which is cluttered with Red Sox memorabilia. Only as the season progresses, the two begin to slip farther and farther away, to the point in which Ben must decide what is more important.
"Fever Pitch" has a list of problems, but at least it isn't as bland as some of the recent romantic comedies. The story is an intelligent and tender one, and asks questions about the sacrifices and hardships one must go through to make a relationship work. Ben and Lindsey actually talk and have serious discussions about their problem, not like in "Hitch" where the characters act foolish for the sake of a few laughs. While the story uses the Red Sox 2004 World Series championship as a backdrop, the movie is less about baseball and more about adaptation and love.
It would be a lot easier to like if it actually had some laughs, though. All Ganz and Mandel are able to come up with are a few cheesy one-liners, which never reach above a level of cute-ness that has already been established by the two stars. The best laugh is something you can see coming a mile away ? a scene in which Barrymore is suddenly hit in the head with a foul ball. The rest of it centers on Fallon's innocent man-child routine, an act that he at the very least borrows from Sandler, and Barrymore's perky as hell routine. The two work best when they're both playing it straight, a hindrance on the film that extends more to bad writing than bad acting. In any event, it's never a good sign when a romantic comedy's best scene is an argument about loyalty.
"Fever Pitch" could desperately use a little edge; perhaps letting Lindsey play a little dirty so she can possibly have a chance of winning Ben over. This movie isn't necessarily a fluff piece, but neither one of its characters is interesting enough to sustain an entire movie, especially Fallon. We get that he can play a really nice guy, but we have yet to see him as a funny guy. If he keeps taking roles like this and "Taxi,? his comedy career is going to strike out even sooner than even his toughest critics may have predicted.
This was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. It's the story of Ben Wrightman (Fallon), a high school teacher who on a class field trip meets Lindsey Meeks (Barrymore), who is a big business yuppie unhappy with the current state of her love life. Willing to try anything, she accepts a date from Ben only to find that he is a nice, caring fellow who will do anything for her. This starts a long and healthy relationship until the day when baseball spring training starts and Ben reveals his dark secret.
Ben has been a Red Sox fan since the age of 12. The Red Sox have been the only constant thing in his life, leaving very little room for love outside of baseball. Lindsey is willing to handle this, however, working around her busy schedule to attend games with him and cope with his insane apartment, which is cluttered with Red Sox memorabilia. Only as the season progresses, the two begin to slip farther and farther away, to the point in which Ben must decide what is more important.
"Fever Pitch" has a list of problems, but at least it isn't as bland as some of the recent romantic comedies. The story is an intelligent and tender one, and asks questions about the sacrifices and hardships one must go through to make a relationship work. Ben and Lindsey actually talk and have serious discussions about their problem, not like in "Hitch" where the characters act foolish for the sake of a few laughs. While the story uses the Red Sox 2004 World Series championship as a backdrop, the movie is less about baseball and more about adaptation and love.
It would be a lot easier to like if it actually had some laughs, though. All Ganz and Mandel are able to come up with are a few cheesy one-liners, which never reach above a level of cute-ness that has already been established by the two stars. The best laugh is something you can see coming a mile away ? a scene in which Barrymore is suddenly hit in the head with a foul ball. The rest of it centers on Fallon's innocent man-child routine, an act that he at the very least borrows from Sandler, and Barrymore's perky as hell routine. The two work best when they're both playing it straight, a hindrance on the film that extends more to bad writing than bad acting. In any event, it's never a good sign when a romantic comedy's best scene is an argument about loyalty.
"Fever Pitch" could desperately use a little edge; perhaps letting Lindsey play a little dirty so she can possibly have a chance of winning Ben over. This movie isn't necessarily a fluff piece, but neither one of its characters is interesting enough to sustain an entire movie, especially Fallon. We get that he can play a really nice guy, but we have yet to see him as a funny guy. If he keeps taking roles like this and "Taxi,? his comedy career is going to strike out even sooner than even his toughest critics may have predicted.
Craig's Grade: C+
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
| A | 10.9% | |
| B | 41.8% | |
| C | 31.8% | |
| D | 15.3% | |
| F | 0.3% |
