Fever Pitch (2005)

Lindsay is stuck in the middle of her relationship with Ben and his passion for the Boston Red Sox.

Directors:

Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Writers:

Lowell Ganz (screenplay), Babaloo Mandel (screenplay)

Stars:

Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Spevack

9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Drew Barrymore	...	Lindsey
Jimmy Fallon	...	Ben
Jason Spevack	...	Ben - 1980
Jack Kehler	...	Al
Scott Severance	...	Artie (as Scott H. Severance)
Jessamy Finet	...	Teresa (as Jessamy R. Finét)
Maureen Keiller	...	Viv
Lenny Clarke	...	Uncle Carl
Ione Skye	...	Molly
KaDee Strickland	...	Robin
Marissa Jaret Winokur	...	Sarah
Evan Helmuth	...	Troy
Brandon Craggs	...	Casey
Brett Murphy	...	Ryan
Isabella Fink	...	Audrey

Storyline

When relaxed and charming Ben Wrightman meets workaholic Lindsey Meeks she finds him sweet and charming, they hit it off and when it is winter Ben can spend every waking hour with Lindsey, but when summer comes around the corner Lindsey discovers Ben's obsession with the Boston Red Sox. She thinks it is perfect until everything goes downhill for them.

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Plot Keywords:

boston red sox | baltimore orioles | world series | ups | promotion | 

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Taglines:

A Comedy About The Game Of Love.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and some sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Footage from a game in Toronto, Canada between the Yankees and the Blue Jays on 1 October 2004 was shot for the movie. Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon were present at the game and she threw out the first pitch.

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Goofs

The Park scene, according to City of Boston Park rules and regulations, could not legally exist. Ben says in his 'list of things I like about you' Lindsey drinks in the middle of the day, inferring that there is liquor in her cup. According to Section 1 Subsection G 'No person can have in his or her possession intoxicating liquor'. Also Ben is having a BBQ, according to Section 3 Subsection J 'No person can make a fire'.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Al: [voice over] Eighty-six years of bangin' our heads against the big green wall, but we finally did it. That part you know. That part everybody knows. But I got a story you don't know. It's about this schoolteacher friend of mine named Ben.

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Crazy Credits

Footage of the "rolling rally" victory parade is shown at the end.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD editon of the film dubbed the "Cursed Reversed Edition for Boston Red Sox fans" by Fox contains the alternate ending of the film that was actually shot during the 2004 playoffs and World Series. In the original ending of the film scripted by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, "The Curse of the Bambino" dubbed by die hard Red Sox fans would have continued "if" the Yankees had beaten them in the playoffs. The Red Sox, who were down by three games, had come back and beaten the Yankees which was the first time a pro-sports team had ever come back from such a defeat and eventually won the World Series, sweeping the St.Louis Cardinals. The moment that it had happened, Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon in character, ran onto the field and celebrated with the team. This ending was edited in the film as a montage with narration by actor Jack Kehler.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Ethan Hawke/Phil Collins (2016)

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Soundtracks

Breathe a Sigh
(1996)
Written and Performed by Paula Kelley

User Reviews

Hornby? Nah!

"Fever Pitch" is supposed to be an adaptation of Nick Hornby's book "Pitch Fever". Only in the book Hornby himself is the main character. And he hasn't got an obsession with baseball, but with soccer. The rest is the same as in the movie, though. Or is it? The truth is "Fever Pitch" has almost nothing to do with the book. It has not so much been based on as it has been inspired by Hornby's novel. On its own "Fever Pitch" is a pretty romantic movie that tries to avoid going over the top with its humor most of the time. Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore try their best not to be unbearable and succeed more or less. The Farrelly brothers clearly took the Weitz brothers as an example for how to get out of the dick joke business into more mature movies. Of course, "Fever Pitch" doesn't hold a candle to the wonderful "About A Boy", but you have to say that the Farrellys were given weaker material to work with in the first place. In its best moments the movie makes you chuckle and in its worst it makes you yawn and look at your watch. Yep, the big problem with "Fever Pitch" is that it drags on too long. Stripped from Hornby's hilarious observations on his favorite sport and its connections to his own life the story just isn't very interesting (which has also already been the problem with the first adaptation of the novel). What do we learn from that? Just because an author is popular doesn't mean that all his novel translate well to film. J.D. Salinger had a reason why he denied film makers to ever adapt his stories, you know?

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fever Pitch

Filming Locations:

Showline Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,400,125, 10 April 2005

Gross USA:

$42,071,069

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,605,163

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Flower Films (II), Wildgaze Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1