*** Official FEVER PITCH Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Joseph S]

Saw the preview yesterday with full slate of Fox TV and Movie trailers.



I really wish someone other than Jimmy Fallon played the lead because this could have been so much better than it was. This film was made for Affleck. (or Damon) The script was perfect and hit way too close to home in some respects, but it was about twenty minutes too short. The whole thing comes to a crashing halt in game 4 of the ALCS and then quickly jumps to the end. Where's the ride to the Championship in the stands? No, "I'm pregnant" after the win. Nothing but montages of the Sox.

It's too clear that all writing ended prior to the win, because everything else was way too forced. They should have ended after the run through the outfield scene, fade to black, a quick "you know the rest" dialogue, and filled the credits with the footage of the Rolling Rally.

 

[BrianB]

Have you seen the original film or read the novel, Joseph?

 

[Joseph S]

I've only seen the current film.

 

[BrianB]

Ah fair enough. I'm curious how much has survived the "baseball makeover".

 

[Yee-Ming]

Is the movie still set in 1986 (or thereabouts) where the Red Sox won their league (but lost the World Series), or has it been updated to match the dramatic 2004 World Series victory?

The latter would match the original movie better, and in that respect the book as well, since in that one Arsenal pulled off a literally last-minute championship winner.

 

[Benson R]

Did anyone else notice this was a Farrelly brothers movie?

I had no idea as none of the advertising mentions that and had no interest in seeing the movie.

Now that I know they directed, I am at least interested to check this out on video.

 

[Jason Seaver]

It's set in 2004. I was at the game where they filmed the original ending - not only did it include Johnny Damon, but the opposing player on the jumbotron is Rhode Islander Rocco Baldelli. Never been happier to see that a movie had its ending reshot.

 

[Chris]

Yep, they said it was designed to end (in the original screenplay) with heartbreak on the field, but love in his life.. the fact that the Sox continued to win changed that

I actually thought this was pretty well played; reminded me somewhat of 50 First Dates in the kind of appeal.

 

[hanson mat]

Didn't know this was the Farrelly Brothers movie. I wasn't planning on seeing it, but I may now. Jimmy Fallon isn't a huge draw for me though.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Two Thumbs up from Ebert and Roper.
I'm a sox fan and it's my Wife's Bday this weekend, think I'll take her to this even thou I'd rather see Sin City

 

[Jeff Wilson]

Just one note about the sourc material: The original book, by Nick Hornby of High Fidelity fame, is not a novel. It's a memoir of his life as a fan of the Arsenal football (ie soccer) club, and how being a diehard fan affected his life and those around him. It gets into larger issues of sports fandom, but essentially it's about his being a fan. It's a great book, but anyone picking it up expecting what they see in either film version will be disappointed. The UK film version does have a few odd things from the book, though.

 

[Yee-Ming]

That reminds me; in 1999 I was on a flight from London to Pisa, being the easiest way to get to Florence, where Arsenal were going to play Fiorentina in the Champions' League (yes, I am an Arsenal fan). The flight also had several other Arsenal fans on it (wearing replica jerseys etc).

In the seat across the aisle, a middle-aged lady was reading "Fever Pitch", so I asked if she was also going to the game. She had no idea what I was talking about; turned out she had read High Fidelity (or maybe About A Boy), liked Hornby's work and had moved onto Fever Pitch -- which wasn't quite what she'd expected nor her cup of tea. So by some coincidence, she was on a plane with lots of Arsenal fans going to an Arsenal game reading an "Arsenal book" -- but she wasn't a fan nor was she going to the game.

 

[Mark Murphy]

I may go see this tommorowwith my wife. Its gathering quite the buzz around here because its based on the Old Town Team. I was disapointed in the casting of Jimmy Fallon as the main character and representative of the Boston fan because I really can't stand him. I heard that they don't do a good job of portraying "us" but I'll wait til I see it to make the determination.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Fever Pitch" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Fever Pitch" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Patrick Sun]

According to the EW article last week regarding the shots from the actual Game 4 World Series game (there's more to the article then this excerpt):

 

[Jason Seaver]

Just out of curiosity - the ads are showing a scene in a bar where Drew Barrymore's character says "it's just a game" and the crowd looks appalled. I don't recall it being in the movie I saw (which also didn't include the "American Dad" short, but who cares?); is it just that print, or weird advertising?

 

[Joseph S]

The bar scene wasn't there when I saw it. The American Dad short was shown, plus two Star Wars trailers, and boatload of others.

 

[Anthony*B]

saw this this weekend w/ the wife (also saw Sin City!!!) - great date movie, fun film, Fallon wasn't overbearingly silly- movie also teaches a nice lesson about obsession & what's really important in life

 

[Patrick Sun]

The weird thing is that Fallon is a Yankees fan. What a sell-out!

 

[DaveF]

I saw this over the weekend. As a romantic comedy, it was acceptably amusing, but nothing special. The plot is formulaic, with the rote romantic-comedy twists and turns. Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore work well as the leads. (If Ben Affleck starred, he would have to be swapped with Barrymore, to play the stuffy workaholic and she the baseball nut.)

In the end, the greatness weakness of the movie is the baseball. Fallon's character is so obsessive that I began to get tired of him and thought Barrymore would be better off without him. While amusing, this concept didn't make for a satisfying relational conflict for me. And then, near the end as the climax draws close, the movie suddenly diverts for a baseball montage. It was tedious and interrupted the flow of the story.

So, it's no "Sleepless in Seattle" or "When Harry met Sally", but "Fever Pitch" was amusing and entertaining me for its 90 minutes.