‘Fever’ fails to knock it out of the park
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The Farrelly brothers are famous for goofball humor that stretches
the limits of good taste to the breaking point. “Dumb and Dumber” and
“There’s Something About Mary” are just two examples of the wild and
crazy genre they helped create.
But their usual raunchy ways take a definitely mellow turn in the
sweet, romantic comedy “Fever Pitch.”
Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” is perfectly cast as a high
school teacher and obsessed fan of the Boston Red Sox. Drew Barrymore
is the hard charging businesswoman who becomes involved with him in
an unlikely dating relationship.
Within this premise, the predictable plot developments play out to
their logical conclusions. But their romance takes enough interesting
and realistic turns to shed a little light on issues of grown-up love
and major life decisions.
One of the joys of the movie is that all the baseball scenes were
shot at Red Sox games during the 2004 season. No Hollywood writer
could have come up with more a dramatic story, as the real-life Red
Sox overcame historic deficits to win their first World Series in 86
years.
The personal drama that plays out between the lovers is given
energy by this factual background.
No doubt, “Fever Pitch” is sweet and cute and family friendly. But
in the end, you’ll find this amusing diversion to be as lightweight
as popcorn.
* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator
for the Orange County public defender’s office.
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