FEVER PITCH

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: thematic elements, sexual content, language

Rated:

Baseball is a long-standing American tradition. Everything from the first pitch of the game to the hot dogs are symbols of baseball culture. And there's also the rivalries between certain teams, especially the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Because of the so-called Curse of the Bambino, since 1918, the Boston Red Sox haven't won a World Series (until recently in the fall of 2004). For 86 years, citizens of Boston have been always hoping for "the year" to be world champions and certain people allow this obsession to go to their heads.

Geometry school teacher Ben Wrightman (SNL's Jimmy Fallon) is your average Bostonian, who came to know and love the Red Sox when he was very young (about seven years old). His uncle often took him to Red Sox games to get him acquainted with the local sport team (his mother is divorced and needed someone to look after her son occasionally). For the next twenty-three years, Ben always kept his passion for his beloved baseball team. After his uncle died, Ben inherited the season tickets from him and made it a tradition to see the Sox on a regular basis. His obsession comes at a cost: the women he's dated have broken up with him due to the fact that he puts his team first in the relationship. And then he meets Lindsey.

Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) works for a company that designs airplanes and is a highly successful individual. She has had her share of problematic dates as well due to the fact that she's more successful than some of the men she meets. When Lindsey starts seeing Ben, her friends keep telling her to look for all the warning signs as to why he's still single at 30 years old. It isn't until she finds out that Ben is a die-hard Red Sox fan (his apartment is a shrine to his team with wallpaper, bed sheets, towels, and even New York Yankee toilet paper). At first, Lindsey brushes it aside as Ben teaches her the basics of baseball, the Boston Red Sox, and the famed "Curse of the Bambino" (early in the 20th century, the Sox were regular world series champs until 1918, when after their last world series, the team sold their beloved Babe Ruth to the Yankees and after that, the Yanks won more than 20 world championships, hence the Curse of the Bambino, named after Babe Ruth's nickname). However, when Lindsey attends game after game after game, she gets far behind at work and Ben's love for baseball's underdog team starts to cut into their relationship, especially when Lindsey asks Ben to go to Paris with her on a business trip and it cuts into the BoSox's playoff game series. Now Ben must make the decision whether to put sports before love or choose his beloved Lindsey.

The film is not without its' objectionable content. Profanity is few and far between with two s***s, one "hell," one a**, and one use of the word bast***. Sexual content is considerably mild with a couple of implications. While on ESPN, Ben is videotaped saying that he ranks the Red Sox above "sex and breathing." One night, Lindsey and Ben storm into Ben's apartment kissing passionately, while Ben forcefully takes off his shirt. Ben and Lindsey are seen in bed together with their bare shoulders. On their first date, Lindsey comes down with the stomach flu and Ben helps her undress into her pajamas and says that he looked at her while helping her undress (we only see her bare shoulders). Ben describes to a high school student how good sex was in his relationship with Lindsey. Lindsey also becomes pregnant with Ben's child. There's also a reference to shaving a man's "nether regions" as well as a few small sexual innuendoes. Viewers might be uncomfortable with listening to Lindsey vomiting, especially while snacking during the movie. 

The film is not Christian in nature because of its display of pre-marital sex between Lindsey and Ben. But it brings up the issue of how obsession can get in the way of a good relationship and the importance of compromise. After realizing how badly Ben loves his Red Sox, Lindsey realizes why he's 30 and unmarried and tries to compromise. Ben realizes how much his love for sports gets in the way of a perfectly good relationship and to prove his love for Lindsey, he attempts to sell his Red Sox tickets to a shady businessman for $125,000. The movie shows that love knows no boundaries and is priceless. It also shows that in a relationship, there must be compromise between the man and the woman, as well as understanding.

Fever Pitch is an interesting gem. It is also a remake of a 1997 film from Britain with the same plot but different sport (in the 1997 version, it was about soccer). Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore are a cute couple in the movie but there's little chemistry between them. Ben's mannerisms around Lindsey are a little unrealistic since he seems to warm up to everyone, especially Lindsey's parents (who are picky over the men she dates). Ben also goes out of his way on the first date to make Lindsey feel better while she was sick, even cleaning the bathroom toilet for her. Ben is also portrayed as a bit of a wimp since he'll do anything for Lindsey except give up his Red Sox (of course, she's not asking him to give them up; she just wants him to not be so obsessive). This movie hits home for me because a friend of mine and his former co-worker have a rivalry going on (my friend is a Yankee fan and the co-worker is a rabid Sox aficionado, much like Ben) and my Yankee fan buddy is constantly complaining about his "friend's" love for his team. Whether or not one likes baseball, we can all learn from this movie that "it's just a game." Christian Red Sox admirers might find this film to be sweet except for the pre-marital sex. Despite the content, the film is cool, funny, and makes for a great date flick.