April 10, 2005 -- “Fever Pitch” is a story about an interesting romantic triangle, a man, a woman and a baseball team. Based on a Nick Hornby novel about a woman in love with a soccer fanatic, the story has been neatly adapted to baseball. In order to make the story work, the baseball team in question had to be one steeped in tradition with a fanatical following. The Boston Red Sox fit that description nicely. The team also has that aura of Calvanistic suffering, the result of 86 years of baseball playoff frustration from 1918 to 2004. I know, I've been a Red Sox fan since 1967. I used to live a short distance from Fenway Park and saw many games there.

Jimmy Fallon of “Taxi” stars as Ben Wrightman, a school teacher who has been a Red Sox fan since childhood, when his uncle introduced him to the sport, then bequeathed his choice season tickets behind the Red Sox dugout at Boston's historic Fenway Park to Ben. Being in a new city and his parents recently divorced, the Red Sox became Ben's family. His life revolves around them. He and his buddies share the season tickets and plan their spring vacations around baseball's annual spring training games in Florida. Ben meets, and falls in love with high-powered executive Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore of “50 First Dates”) during baseball's off season. Ben warns her that he is a Red Sox fan, but she has no idea just how fanatical he is until spring training starts.

Lindsey decides she will adjust. She needs to concentrate on her job during the summer as she tries for a big promotion. She figures Ben can do his Red Sox thing while she works. It doesn't work out quite so neatly. Meeting Ben after night games leaves her sleep deprived. She can't go to the games and work at the same time. She finds that when it comes to a trip to meet her family, and a trip to Paris she wants him to take with her, the Red Sox come first. It is beginning to look like the accommodation may never work out.

I've never been a big fan of Drew Barrymore, but she does a fine job with this role. She hits the right notes as a woman whose frustration keeps growing little by little until she finally reaches the breaking point. Fallon gives it a game try, but he is really miscast in this role. He has charm and delivers his one-liners well, but he seems too lightweight to be a romantic lead next to Barrymore. He settles into the role as the movie goes along and becomes halfway believable, but he's never really convincing. The supporting cast is quite good, particularly the circle of friends around both of the main characters.

Some people might think that the people who sit in the seats near Ben at Fenway Park are some kind of caricatures. Not so, I've seen a lot of sports fans who are very similar to these people. Red Sox fans are a rare breed, right up there with Yankees fans, Chicago Cubs fans, Dodgers fans and Packer fans as among the most loyal, dedicated fans in sports. Win or lose, Red Sox fans keep coming back for more. The filmmakers left the end of the story open and waited for the season to end. Nobody expected the Red Sox to win the world series in 2004 after 86 years of frustration and heartache. Even Hollywood wouldn't have scripted that happy ending to the story unless it really happened. Nobody would have believed it, particularly Red Sox fans. They know better. I can hardly believe it myself, and I watched the historic 2004 playoffs. This film rates a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2005 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .