Fever Pitch [WS]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Nick Hornby's acclaimed memoir about one man's struggle to balance his love of a woman and his love for soccer was the basis of a well-reviewed British film in 1997, and now gets a Americanized rewrite with this picture, in which the game is changed from soccer to baseball. Ben (Jimmy Fallon) is a high-school teacher who meets Lindsay (Drew Barrymore), who has a successful career in business. Ben and Lindsay don't appear to have much in common on the surface, but they hit it off and are soon involved in a serious romance. But when spring rolls around, Lindsay becomes aware of the true love of Ben's life -- the Boston Red Sox. Despite the team's lamentable record, Ben has been a fiercely loyal Red Sox fan since childhood, and Lindsay finds it hard to compete with his passion for baseball, while Ben is forced to choose between the obsessions of his youth and the enthusiasms of a responsible adult. Fever Pitch was shot in part in Boston during the 2004 baseball season, which to the surprise of the filmmakers saw the Red Sox winning baseball's world series for the first time since 1918. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English, Spanish
• Features:
  • • 13 delted scenes
    • Gag reels
    • Full-length commentary by directors Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
    • "Break the Curse" and "Love Triangle" featurettes
    • Fox movie channel presents "Making a Scene"
    • Theatrical trailer & more

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

• Producer:

  Drew Barrymore, Gil Netter, Bradley Thomas, Alan Greenspan, Amanda Posey, Nancy Juvonen

• Screenwriter:

  Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

• Book Author:

  Nick Hornby

• Cinematographer:

  Matthew Leonetti

• Composer (Music Score):

  Craig Armstrong

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe

• Editor:

  Allan E. Baumgarten

• Production Designer:

  Maher Ahmad

• Executive Producer:

  Marc S. Fischer, Nick Hornby, David Evans

• Costume Designer:

  Sophie De Rakoff

• Presented by:

  Flower Films

• Best Boy Grip:

  Roland Gauvin, Daryl Richardson

• Head Carpenter:

  Bob Pearson

• Painter:

  Douglas Cluff, Eric Levenson

• Best Boy Electric:

  Jim Mitchell

REVIEW:

• The American version of Fever Pitch does a fine job of changing little aspects of the lead character in order to make him both more American and more palatable to American audiences. The original British character, obsessed with the football club Arsenal, was prickly even aside from his obsession. The obsession seemed a natural part of his less-than-pleasant psychological makeup. Jimmy Fallon's Red Sox-loving Ben has had his rough edges sanded down. His character lacks the full-blown misanthropy of the original character, making him more of a man-child than anything else. Fallon smartly underplays much of the film, an unexpected surprise after his manic work in Taxi and on Saturday Night Live. He and Drew Barrymore have a very sweet chemistry together, but it's possible that is more to Barrymore's credit. Considering her track record in these things, it becomes more and more apparent that Drew Barrymore is a big reason this film earns as much good will as it does. Here is an actress, just turned 30, who has figured out exactly what it is she does very well onscreen and is able to shape projects to fit her. Barrymore produced this film and if nothing else she understands exactly how to make films her fans will enjoy while straying just enough from the expected formula to keep people interested. Peter and Bobby Farrelly will never be thought of as visual stylists, but they know to trust their performers and they are sports fans. These two aspects underscore Ben's likeability. This Fever Pitch never comes close to matching the psychological depth of the original adaptation (starring an outstanding Colin Firth), but it does make for a nice time at the movies. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi