The Reel Critic

Author: STEPHANIE DOSCH

I'm from Seattle, and I must admit that spending a beautiful afternoon watching the Mariners at Safeco Field is one of my favorite summer activities. I don't really "do" sports, but I follow the Ms somewhat - especially when they're good - and always considered myself a fan. That is, until I came to Middlebury. I think it was during the playoffs my sophomore year, when I was talking to a Bostonian who enthused "Go Sox!" even though they were already out, that I fully understood what it means to be a fan. Since then, I've observed that Red Sox fans are the most diehard of them all, and so it's appropriate that they are the subject of the Farrelly brothers' new movie "Fever Pitch."

The movie is based on British author Nick Hornby's autobiographical work about being a soccer enthusiast (sorry, that's a football enthusiast). While Hornby is perhaps best known here in the States for his novels "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy," in Britain he is most revered for "Fever Pitch" (by the way, over there a pitch is what we call a soccer field). The book was first made into a movie starring Colin Firth in 1997, which retained the original sport, but has now crossed the Atlantic as a new romantic comedy starring Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore and baseball.

Fallon plays Ben, a middle school math teacher who meets Barrymore's character Lindsey when he takes his students on a field trip to her company. Lindsey at first refuses to go out with Ben, but then decides that maybe dating a different type of guy than her usual successful businessmen might be a good idea. Of course, the two hit it off and things couldn't be better - until, that is, Ben reveals just how die-hard a fan he is. Soon Lindsey finds herself caught between her love for Ben and his love for the Red Sox, and the usual romantic comedy stuff ensues.

One of the most fun aspects of the film is that all of the game scenes were actually filmed in Fenway Park, during real games, with real fans - no CGI's and no cardboard cutouts. Barrymore said in an interview that the only reason she was allowed to run across the field during the climactic playoff game was because "Fever Pitch" is a Fox movie and Fox was covering the game, but she still had to beg the security guard and she only had one chance to get it right. In any case, the Fenway scenes add an energy and excitement to the movie that would be impossible to recreate.

Out of the romantic comedies I've seen recently this is probably the best and is certainly the most enjoyable for both women and men, since it really is one part romantic comedy, one part sports movie. You don't have to be a baseball enthusiast or a Sox fan (go Ms!) to appreciate it - but add two points if you are.

"Fever Pitch" is playing in Middlebury at the Marquis Theater and at Northeast Cinemas in South Burlington, the Majestic 10 in Williston and at the Plaza Movieplex in Rutland.