| Fever Pitch | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Fever Pitch byNick Hornby |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Matthew F. Leonetti |
| Edited by | Alan Baumgarten |
| Music by | Craig Armstrong |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[1] |
| Box office | $50.6 million[1] |
Fever Pitch (released asThe Perfect Catch outside North America) is a 2005 Americanromanticcomedy-drama film directed by theFarrelly brothers. It starsDrew Barrymore andJimmy Fallon and is a remake of the British1997 film of the same title.Nick Hornby, who had written theoriginal 1992 book and the 1997 screenplay adaptation, acted as an executive producer for the American remake.
While both the book and the original 1997 film are aboutsoccer, the 2005 adaptation, aimed specifically at the American market, is aboutbaseball. BothFever Pitch films feature real-life dramatic sporting victories, the original focusing onArsenal's last-minuteLeague title win in the final game of the1988–1989 season, and the remake on theBoston Red Sox'sWorld Series Championship in 2004, unanticipated while the film was in production.
The film was released on April 8, 2005, in the United States, withInside the CIA, a promotional short film forAmerican Dad!, premiering with it. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $50 million.
In 1980, 7-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Wrightman had just moved toBoston with his mother after his parents' divorce. His uncle Carl took him to aBoston Red Sox game atFenway Park to cheer him up. From that day on, he was adie-hard Red Sox fan for life.
23 years later, Ben is still in Boston, working as a school teacher, and has inherited his uncle's season tickets since his death fromcancer. Almost all of his possessions bear the Red Sox logo (except for his toilet paper, which is of theNew York Yankees). On a school trip, Ben meets Lindsey Meeks, a successful, dedicated corporate executive, and they begin dating.
Lindsey, who knows little about baseball or the Red Sox, learns about theCurse of the Bambino from Ben'sstadium friends (including Al Waterman, a sponge salesman who also narrates the story). They continue attending the games together, but tension arises when Lindsey is up for a promotion and begins working on her laptop during the game. Lindsey is knocked unconscious by aline drive foul and recovers but stops going to the games, suggesting Ben will have more fun if he goes with his friends.
Things get worse when Lindsey invites Ben to accompany her toParis, and he declines because the Red Sox are in the heat of the pennant race. Before leaving, she tells Ben she might be pregnant. She expresses concern that he is more committed to the Red Sox than her, and days later, she calls him and confirms she isn't pregnant.
To prove he is not obsessed, Ben misses a gameagainst the Yankees to escort Lindsey to her friend's birthday party. Ben and Lindsey enjoy the party, and after making love, he tells her it was one of the best nights of his life. Moments later, he gets an ecstatic call from his friend Troy, who tells him the Sox overcame a seven-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in team history. Ben becomes irate that he missed such a historic Red Sox moment, blaming Lindsey for making him miss the game. She is heartbroken, and they break up.
Ben soon misses Lindsey and visits her in a futile attempt to reconcile. He plans to sell his season tickets to prove she means more to him than the Red Sox. Lindsey finds out during the celebration for her much-anticipated promotion and rushes to stop him. She buys a scalped outfield ticket and, during the 9th inning of theRed Sox–Yankees playoff game, when the Red Sox are just 3 outs away from being swept. Ben is in the stands, about to finalize the ticket sale.
Meanwhile, Lindsey drops over the outfield wall and runs across the field and around players to avoid security. She reaches Ben, tears up the contract, and tells him that if he loves her enough to sell his seats, then she loves him enough not to let him do it. They kiss in front of the entire crowd before Lindsey is arrested.
Al narrates the epilogue: the Red Sox won that game and then beat the Yankees three more times to win theAmerican Leaguepennant, later sweeping theNational League championSt. Louis Cardinals for their firstWorld Series title in 86 years. Lindsay and Ben travel toBusch Stadium in St. Louis for the decisiveGame 4. Eventually, they marry, and Lindsey conceives a "player to be named later". Al explains that the baby will be namedTed Williams Wrightman if it's a boy, "Carla Yastrzemski" Wrightman if it's a girl, adding, "Let's all hope for a boy."
Apost-credit scene shows a group of children (presumably, the children of Ben and Lindsey and their friends) chanting "LET'S GO, RED SOX!".
SeveralBoston Red Sox personnel make appearances in the film, including: playersJohnny Damon,Trot Nixon,Jason Varitek andJim Rice, and announcersJoe Castiglione,Don Orsillo andDennis Eckersley.
The original plot had assumed theRed Sox would lose in the playoffs. However, the Red Sox stunned the baseball world when they won four straight games to win the2004 ALCS against the rivalYankees (becoming the firstMLB team toovercome a 3–0 series deficit) and subsequentWorld Series against theSt. Louis Cardinals to break the "Curse of the Bambino". Thus, the ending had to be rewritten. On the day of Game 4, with the Red Sox on the verge of a sweep, the Farrellys decided to bring Barrymore, Fallon, and a film crew to St. Louis hours before the first pitch — and Barrymore and Fallon attended the game atBusch Stadium in character. When the Red Sox made the final out to secure a 4–0 win over the Cardinals that broke the Curse, Fox cameras on the live broadcast caught Barrymore and Fallon, as Lindsey and Ben, running onto the field and kissing to celebrate.[2] The film, with its updated ending, was also screened at Fenway Park the following August on a screen in center field.[3]
Originally,Shawn Levy, who was a huge fan ofNick Hornby's works for years, was attached to direct, withGwyneth Paltrow playing Lindsey.[4] However, Paltrow found the script mediocre and turned down the role.[5]Brian Robbins replaced Levy, but he quit the project as well.[6] AfterDrew Barrymore replaced Paltrow andJimmy Fallon joined the cast,Jay Russell,[7]P. J. Hogan,[8]Luke Greenfield,[9] andMira Nair[10] were all rumored candidates to direct until the studios hired theFarrelly brothers.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating 66% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "While not a home run,Fever Pitch has enough charm and on-screen chemistry between the two leads to make it a solid hit."[11] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
From a cinematographic and literary perspective, the film received some favorable criticism from expertsRoger Ebert[14] andJames Berardinelli.[15]
The film opened at No. 3 and grossed $12.4 million in its opening weekend. The final North American gross of the film was $42.1 million, and the worldwide gross was $50.5 million.[1]
Fever Pitch was released onDVD andVHS on September 13, 2005.
| Fever Pitch: Music from the Motion Picture | |
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| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | April 26, 2005 (2005-04-26) |
| Length | 54:23[16] |
| Label | BulletProof Music/Rykodisc |
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