Fever Pitch

FEVER PITCH
Dir. by Peter and Bobby Farrelly

Being a Cubs fan, I can understand the obssession Red Sox fans have to a point. I can understand the pain that comes from dissapointing season after dissapointing season. And while I don't buy into the bullshit of curses, the Cubs have their fair share as well according to some fans. Now on a side note, the Redsox only had to wait 86 years for their next championship; if the Cubs fail again this year it will be going on 100, but semantics. The difference between a Cubs fan and a Redsox fan would probably be that we can actually say with confidence, "There is always next year." Let's put it this way; if Steve Bartman lived in Boston and pulled that shit on the Red Sox, he would probably not be alive. Yes, the Bill Buckner death threats are a fact. This was something I was thinking about while watching the new Farrelly Brothers comedy, "Fever Pitch," because I was wondering since Jimmy Fallon, a die hard Yankees fan in real life, was playing the lead obsessed Red Sox fan, would Red Sox fans be able to get past their craziness and like this movie?

As far as what I thought of the film, I was mixed, but my feelings leaned on the good side more times than the bad. First off, I have to admit I am not a Farrelly brothers fan. I found "There's Something About Mary" to be funny as hell the first time I saw it, but it does not hold up as well on multiple viewings. I thought "Shallow Hal" had its moments. I found "Kingpin," with the exception of a great Bill Murray performance to be pretty terrible. As for Dumb and Dumber, Me,Myself, and Irene, and Stuck On You; I just found them unwatchable. So, for the Farrelly brothers, I feel this movie is a hell of a sucess.

Secondly, for all of you sports aficianados out there, this is not a sports film. This is a love story that uses baseball for our main character's (Jimmy Fallon) passion and stumbling block. And that's fine. "Rocky" is one of the greatest movies of all time, and it uses the sport of boxing in the same vein. I am not saying this is as good as "Rocky," but it's a valid comparison. But the movie brings up an interesting point from a man's perspective, and Jimmy Fallon pulls it off very well after a bit of a shaky start. The movie adresses the idea of having a passion of something that you care so deeply about you will do anything to keep it in your life. In one of the better scenes in the movie, Jimmy Fallon exclaims, "They've been with me for 23 years. Can you name anything that you've cared about for 23 years?" It's a valid point that the movie adresses very well. Now, granted, I have passions, but I would not skip out on a trip to Paris for many of them. And, if someone offered me 175, ooo dollars for my Titans season tickets, I would sell them in a heartbeat. I've got a 53 inch screen HDTV at home; I can watch the games from there for awhile. But, still, the movie even adresses these predicaments successfully.

I'm just so sick and tired of these romantic comedies or dramas where one of the characters has to give up something big in there life to be with the one they love. This movie is unique in the sense that it looks past all of those big Hollywood ideals and actually brings up the concept of compromise. That's right. It's a Hollywood movie where compromise comes into the denoument; it's refreshing in a way.

The performances are good. Fallon, who as Chris said was so lambasted for "Taxi," and for the most part deservedly so, comes off very well here. Like I said earlier, he is a bit shaky at first, but I later looked on that as a person who is unsure of himself when asking that beautiful woman out on a first date. Drew Barrymore is as cute as always, and brings a lot more to the table than the script necessarilly allows for her character.

There are a lot of genuinly touching moments in the film, and while there are not really any laugh out loud moments, it's pretty damn funny at times. The Farrelly brothers are for the first time going for more subtle humor in a lot of the moments, and they pull most of them off.

The movie has some problems, hence the mixed feelings. There are plenty of stereotypical romantic comedy staples, especially concerning Jimmy Fallon's guy friends and Drew Barrymore's girlfriends. Barrymore's group even has the staple fat friend who doesn't really do anything except look at her three hot friends (one played by Ione Sky; I was wondering what the hell ever happened to her) in awe and occasionally make a few wisecracks. Fallon's crew consist of a couple of decent lookers and a balding overweight dork, played by "Sex and the City's" Willie Garson. These guys of course get the obligatory scene of dancing for Yankees' tickets. There's the cute walk in the park; there's the first almost break-up, then an actual break-up; the trying to get her back scene; the finally getting her back scene. However, even a lot of these moments have nice touches to them; mostly because of Fallon and Barrymore's genuine performances. Also, the couple of times the Farrelly brothers try to bring in some of their typical non PC humor, it almost feels like you're watching another movie. The most shameful of these is when Willie Garson is shaving Jimmy Fallon's pubic hairs.

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable film, and a very refreshing film in the mix of stinkers 2005 has been throwing at movie goers left and right. Hopefully, with this and "Sahara" opening today, and movies like "The Interpeter," "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and "the final "Star Wars" film coming out in the next few weeks, there will be an upswing as far as quality filmmaking goes. "Fever Pitch" is worth seeing; it won't blow your socks off, but it won't make you argue over getting your money back either. Now, I have to go watch my Cubbies blow an overinnings game.

Final Grade: B+

I'm out.