Fever pitch gets a hit on fandom, misses romance

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Im a Toronto Blue Jay fan, probably borderline psychotic even to the point of doing daily routines to either keep a winning streak going or stop a losing skid.

I mention this because of the new film Fever Pitch, the new Farrelly brothers comedy about an obsessed Boston Red Sox fan. And while I can relate to that character, Fever Pitch ultimately falls short thanks to the horrible decision to make this potentially unconventional comedy a conventional feel-good date movie.

Jimmy Fallon plays Ben, a teacher whose one true love is the Red Sox. His life revolves around the season and his wardrobe and home decor consist of nothing but team merchandise.

During one offseason, Ben meets Lindsay (Drew Barrymore), giving him the second love of his life. At first their relationship is fine, but once the new season begins, Bens obsession becomes more of a barrier.

When Fever Pitch is focusing on all of Bens neurotic behavior concerning the Sox, the film proves to be rather funny and insightful. Moments such as Ben getting upset because someone is talking about a game he has taped to watch later, I can relate to as a fan.

But most of Fever Pitch consists of the relationship between Ben and Lindsay, and thats when the film falls apart.

Barrymore has revitalized her career playing the adorable girl next door, so her role is no stretch. Fallon fares much better here than in the dreadful Taxi. Still, as one friend who saw the film with me pointed out, Fallon just seems to be filling the role of Ben because the producers couldnt convince Adam Sandler to take the part.

Sandler and Barrymore have developed a nice onscreen rapport, but I never bought the chemistry between Fallon and Barrymore. It doesnt help that most of the obstacles in their relationship dont really center around the Sox, but are just predictable romantic comedy roadblocks.

Even the Farrelly brothers seem restrained. The directors responsible for Theres Something About Mary and Kingpin dump most of their trademark humor for a sugar-sweet romantic comedy.

To put it in baseball terms, Fever Pitch swings for the fences, only to come up well short of the warning track.

Discount dud of the week

This weeks discount dud is Hide and Seek, (D+) a silly exercise on bad horror films that starts promisingly enough until it quickly erodes into a movie with more laughs than thrills.

Robert De Niro stars as David, a New York psychiatrist who moves with his daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning) upstate after the suicide of his wife (Amy Irving).

David thinks the shift to the country will be a nice change for Emily, still coping with the loss of her mother. Soon, Emily starts to talk of an imaginary friend named Charlie a friend responsible for some disturbing occurrences (lets just say when a film like this has a cat, you know it cant be a good thing).

De Niro and Fanning actually work well together and for a while manage to at least keep Hide and Seek interesting.

But none are able to save Hide and Seek from its huge shortcomings.

The biggest problem with Hide and Seek is Ari Schlossbergs screenplay. The promising start eventually begins to spin out of control, with a ton of red herrings and a payoff that just felt lazy and, quite frankly, stinks.

Hide and Seek opens Friday at the Plaza 6, where all movies are $1.50.

If you would like to comment on sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Comptons column or declare your life-long allegiance to the Toronto Blue Jays or Jacksonville Jaguars, you can e-mail Micheal at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.

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