Review: Fever Pitch

Rated PG-13 | 103 mins

IMDB Info

Just when I thought that the Farrelly Brothers were about to destroy the streak of hysterical films that makes up the majority of the whole of their entire film careers, they ended up dishing out the best film that they’ve ever made. The ads for Fever Pitch, a movie which is basically about learning to balance the passions in our lives, made it seem like a product of profound stupidity, even more of an artistic bottom-feeder than the Farrelly’s shaky debut, Dumb & Dumber. Surprisingly, it is anything but.

Truth be told, mere clips and a synopsis of Fever Pitch do no justice to its somewhat unassuming depth. This is a film that is all about atmosphere, portraying the ways that we humans respond to the loves of our lives more by understanding the mere nature of things than through plotting. The story, which chronicles the dilemma that Red Sox Fan Ben (Jimmy Fallon) faces when he discovers the magnitude to which his relationship with his girlfriend Lindsey (Drew Barrymore) is hindered by his devotion to his favorite baseball team, is undeniably silly. This, however, does not change the fact that the movie is so warm and so easy-going that the ridiculousness of the premise only adds to its charm. Fallon and Barrymore share wondrously realistic chemistry together and the picture benefits tremendously from such, especially in terms of making the ending, which was changed when the supposedly-cursed Sox actually went on to win last year’s World Series, feel seamless and natural. It’s no exaggeration to say that as far as Hollywood’s romantic-comedies go, Fever Pitch is quite a unique and precious catch.