Movie Review - Fever Pitch

Not too long ago, I conducted a survey about the movie preferences of men and women (the results can be seen here). It was interesting to say the least, but one thing that was blatantly obvious from the results was that women don't particularly care for sports related movies.

If I remember correctly - they actually preferred sci-fi and action over sports. Naturally, their favorite category was the romantic comedy, aka The Chick Flick.

No big news there...guys like touchdowns - girls like touchy-feely...guys prefer stolen bases while the fairer sex prefer a stolen heart...and the dudes would rather watch the underdog come from behind while the ladies would rather see - well - you get the point.

Believe it or not, there is a movie out there that can satisfy both sides of the equation. It's a great sports underdog story and a great love story all in one - and if you happen to be from New England it's even more special.

That movie is Fever Pitch.

Fever Pitch was originally made in 1997 about a British soccer player, but it was remade by the Farrelly Brothers in 2004.

In the Farrelly's version the story revolves around Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon) and Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) and the improbable, historic 2004 baseball season.

The story begins when Ben, as a young boy, is taken to a Boston Red Sox game by his uncle, beginning a life-long love affair with The Old Towne Team. As he grows, his love affair with the Sox becomes an obsession, punctuated by the inheritance of his uncle's coveted season tickets.

Ben's life is built around the Red Sox and he suffers through year after year of disappointment and heartbreak because of it.

Prior to the 2004 season he meets and begins dating Lindsey. The relationship moves along nicely and Ben decides to pop the question...he asks her to accompany him to a Sox game. Lindsey accepts and she too becomes a member of Red Sox Nation - until her job begins to interfere, causing some turbulence in the relationship.

So the two story lines move along together, the baseball season and the relationship, each with its ups and downs and eventual resolution. What makes this movie stand out from, say Rocky...is that Rocky, although a compelling story was fictitious and the correlation between Rocky's career and his love life were fabricated. Not so with Fever Pitch - here the backdrop surrounding Ben and Lindsey's relationship was real-life drama, literally unfolding during the filming of the movie.

At the risk of sounding cliché - you could not script a better subplot for a love story than what actually happened in Boston that year.

The Farrelly Brothers hit a grand-slam with this one - and they didn't even plan it. In fact, the original script was written based on the assumption that the Sox would lose in the playoffs (something that wouldn't have surprised anybody) but they didn't. They were three outs away from early dismissal when Dave Roberts stole the base that will be forever regarded as the most important stolen base in Red Sox history. They continued winning and the script had to be revised accordingly.

Talk about story book endings...they don't come any more story-book than this one.

The bottom line here is Fever Pitch is as close to the perfect blend of sports movie and chick flick as you'll find. Not only will the women get teary eyed at the end, but the guys, especially the Sox fans, will be sniffing back some water works as well.

If you haven't seen it and you're looking for a good "together" movie, check it out. If you have seen it, then you know it's always worth watching again...unless, of course, you're a Yankee fan.