Fever Pitch
dir. Farrelly Brothers
Opens Fri April 8
Various Theaters
Fever Pitch is set in the 2004 baseball season–The Year of the Red Sox. ’04 saw the Boston Red Sox ascend from decades of frustration and heartbreak to win their first World Series championship in 86 years. That season–and the loyalty of Red Sox fans during and before it–is itself a powerful story about love.
Too bad that Fever Pitch, which superimposes a love story on top of the Red Sox’s momentous season, isn’t a stronger film. Ben (Jimmy Fallon) is a teacher whose life is dominated by his love for the Red Sox. But when he hooks up with Lindsey (Drew Barrymore), things get rough–Lindsey’s a baseball neophyte, and justifiably freaked out by Ben’s fandom.
Instead of following the story’s more interesting aspects–like how love for something beyond one’s control (say, a sports team) correlates to love for something within one’s control (say, a relationship with a really hot girlfriend)–directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly make a rote romantic comedy. Like the best romantic comedies, Fever Pitch is a good 95 percent lighthearted fantasy; like the worst, it’s so predictable that you might as well watch it in reverse.
But there’s a point in the film when Ben points out a simple factor in his love for the Red Sox: They’re always there, trying their best, being something that Ben can feel like a part of. Fever Pitch is a lot of those things, too: Dependable, well-intentioned, and pleasant enough even when it’s not successful. Pretend you’re a Red Sox fan, and think of Fever Pitch as one of the pre-’04 seasons: You have a bad hunch about how predictably disappointing it’ll turn out, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any less enjoyable.
