Many movies are formulaic, and most any reviewer can spot them and their "blueprints" from miles away. And the genres that rely on them the most are romantic comedies and sports flicks that rarely offer any surprises about how they'll unfold and/or conclude.
Not surprisingly, "Fever Pitch" -- a baseball based romantic comedy -- throws no curveballs and swings and misses too many times to be deemed a win. The story -- adapted from Nick Hornby's novel by screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel ("Robots," "Parenthood") -- has been up to bat before in the 1997 film of the same name. Then, however, it more closely followed Hornby's original tale in having Colin Firth's character being an obsessed football (soccer) fan.
The writers and the brotherly filmmaking duo of Bobby and Peter Farrelly ("Stuck on You," "There's Something About Mary"), opted to change the sport to baseball, but have shifted more of the focus to the romance this time around. While the first film was moderately entertaining, the remake isn't engaging at all. There are few laughs (I chuckled twice) and little credible romance (the chemistry between leads Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore is about as plentiful as fans at Expos games last year).
There's also far too much footage of real Boston Red Sox games that is obviously related to the bigger plot but otherwise only serves as giddy remembrances for those who live in the Red Sox Nation or dead-space filler (replacing musical montages that usually play that role in films such as this).
All of which is too bad since there's some decent and malleable potential here. Notwithstanding the reports that the script "had" to be changing during filming since the Sox broke their age-old curse and actually won the World Series, the filmmakers could and should have done so much more with the material.
For instance, Ben's baseball obsession could have been a surprise to Barrymore's character (rather than her knowing almost immediately), resulting in Fallon's being a Jekyll and Hyde sort of fanatic. Then again, Lindsey could have been a closet fanatic of her own (who roots, natch, for the rival Yankees), thus leading to some comically tense and competitive moments between the two.
Instead, we get a rather blasé approach featuring Lindsey slowing getting fed up with Ben once she realizes he's not going to change. Even that could have generated some fun with the fanatic trying to attend, watch or at least listen to the games any way he can, all while doing something else date-related with her.
Unfortunately, neither the filmmakers nor the leads are up to the task. The result is a flat and boring affair that will likely only play to diehard rom-com fans or those who call the Red Sox their chosen team. All of which is both surprising and disappointing considering that Hornby's other adapted works -- "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy" -- have been so good, entertaining and multi-layered. Here, the little details -- such as the narrator identifying himself as a guy who sells sponges -- aren't funny and don't ever amount to anything down the line.
It doesn't help that Barrymore ("50 First Dates" the "Charlie's Angels" films) and Fallon ("Taxi," "Anything Else") aren't any more compatible than a Red Sox and Yankees fan pairing. She seems bored in and with her part, while he's still yet to prove to me that he's leading man potential. While some supporting characters are present -- mostly representing friends on both sides of the romantic game -- none make any sort of lasting impression (in a genre where such people usually stand out).
With the "Curse of the Bambino" (resulting from Babe Ruth's sale to the Yankees and the Red Sox's decades long drought following that) finally being broken with last year's World Series win, perhaps it was transferred to this film. Whatever the case, with the inefficient play of those both in front of and behind the camera, this sports-based romantic comedy never is good enough for the majors and is called out long before the bottom of the ninth. "Fever Pitch" (a.k.a. "Lukewarm Bunt") rates as just a 3.5 out of 10.
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