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Fever Pitch

EMAILPRINTTwentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

Fever Pitch reviews
56
5.9 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 38 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Romance

Written by: Lowell Ganz
Babaloo Mandel
Nick Hornby (novel)

Directed by: Bobby Farrelly
Peter Farrelly

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 8, 2005
DVD: September 13, 2005

Running Time: minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and some sensuality

Starring Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Spevack, Jack Kehler, Scott Severance, Jessamy Finet, Maureen Keiller, Lenny Clarke, and Ione Skye

A contemporary romantic comedy about a successful woman (Barrymore) who thinks she's finally met the perfect guy (Fallon). Everything seems ideal until baseball season begins, and she has to compete with his true first love: the Boston Red Sox. (20th Century Fox)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's been a while since a movie made the game of love this winning.

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88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie has been directed by the Farrelly brothers...Here, they're sensitive and warm-hearted, never push too hard, empathize with the characters, allow Lindsey and Ben to become people we care about.

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88

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Baseball, Boston and Drew Barrymore. Certainly sounds like a winning combination.

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80

Variety Brian Lowry

The Farrelly brothers are growing up, which in this case isn't a bad thing. With a tacked-on ending made necessary by the Boston Red Sox's improbable World Series run last fall, Fever Pitch proves a charming romantic comedy against "A Beautiful Mind"-type framework.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

A curious mix of smarts and schmaltz.

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75

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Effortlessly entertaining romantic comedy.

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75

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

The gall of Peter and Bobby Farrelly. To think that a romantic comedy might work absent a sleazy wager or maddening miscommunication takes a lot of chutzpah.

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75

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The picture's consistently entertaining and, though it has few brilliant comic peaks, it never plunges into boring valleys.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Fever Pitch works. At times, it works brilliantly.

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70

Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer

Sails by on cute dialogue, some funny visual gags, and two enormously likable leads.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Ultimately goes the distance, it gets the job done with a halfhearted bunt rather than a solid line drive.

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70

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Sweet and often hilarious.

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67

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

This is Hollywood Hornby: not terrible, but not worth crossing a busy street for, and nowhere near as memorable as what the Sox did last year.

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63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

As a motion picture, Fever Pitch is merely competent.

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63

USA Today Mike Clark

By contrast, other Hornby screen adaptations are "About a Boy" and "High Fidelity"- superb comedies both and, in Fidelity's case, a treatise on male obsession with far more depth and even more laughs.

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63

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Relationship comedy like this is mother's milk to Drew Barrymore, who, as usual, is adorable and perfect.

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60

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

For all its various failures, Fever Pitch taps expertly into our nostalgia for an era when baseball really was the American pastime, unsullied by money, drugs or celebrity.

60

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

To call this "Farrelly brothers lite" may be a little redundant, but aside from the odd vomit gag, it goes relatively easy on their usual working-class taboo busting.

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60

The New Yorker David Denby

Has a slapdash feeling to it.

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60

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Barrymore has rarely been so bright and effortlessly charming, but it's all lost on Fallon, who often resembles one of those unfortunate SNL guests who freeze up on live TV, completely out of their element. If Fallon wants a life after SNL, he might want to try another medium.

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60

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Still, despite the visual clumsiness and the production's tattered seams, I found myself rooting for this movie anyway, partly because Lindsey and Ben make a nice fit, as do the actors playing them, partly because the Farrellys bring so much heart to their movies, and partly because Ms. Barrymore inspires more goodwill than any other young actress I can think of working today in American movies.

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60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

If you're rooting for Barrymore and Fallon, then why not their team? In the movies, there are enough happy endings for everyone.

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60

Slate David Edelstein

I prefer the Farrellys when they're disreputable and push the boundaries of taste, because they're otherwise a tad sentimental.

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60

Empire Miles Fielder

Not a Farrelly brothers classic, and (some testicle-washing aside) not much in the way of their trademark gross-out humour, but the boys from Boston do an admirable job of transferring Hornby's story into the States and onto the baseball diamond.

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58

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Passably entertaining.

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50

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The movie is so soggy and anonymous, I had to remind myself that the Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, directed it. It's sad to watch the kingpins of gross-out try to dial down to cute. Swung at and missed.

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50

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Fever Pitch is surprisingly devoid of jokes, or romance, or any of the other basic elements you'd expect to find in a romantic comedy. The only thing the Farrellys get right is the obsession.

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50

Village Voice J. Hoberman

But the ickiest thing about Fever Pitch is its reverential Field of Dreams music.

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50

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

If anything, Fever Pitch will give Bosox fans one more chance to relive, in big-screen glory, those fleeting, flavorsome days.

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50

Premiere Aaron Hillis

One-dimensional fluff piece.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A romantic comedy that flirts with something serious but never gets past the flirting stage.

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50

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Fever Pitch lacks that Farrelly spark, that warm, crazy glint.

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50

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Rarely have filmmakers had a more wildly improbable happy ending forced on them. Well, you need all the help you can get, divine or otherwise, when your two stars - Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon - have no chemistry whatsoever.

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40

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Honestly, this movie would've worked a lot better had the Red Sox not won the World Series.

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40

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Unfunny, charmless and hopelessly ordinary.

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30

Washington Post Desson Thomson

It's almost too dull to pan.

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20

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Ultimately, it's a bore. Don't see the movie – read the book, play the game.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 38 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sean K. gave it a5:
The movie was scripted; I could easily guess the outcome at the end of the movie, and what will happen in the next scene before it even started. The fact I could guess what could happen next I felt like there was no reason to watch the movie. I also thought that Jimmy Fallon’s character was just so predictable and fake. I know that there are some diehard Red-Sox fans out there but come on! If you really love this person you should want to be with her all the time you can you should put her first and baseball second. Overall I thought the movie was not great but okay. I would consider it rainy day movie if you fell asleep watching it you would not feel obligated to watch it the next day.

Katherine gave it a10:
I really liked this movie. It was very funny. I am a Drew Barrymore and a Jimmy Fallon fan.

Alicia gave it a1:
It was so boring and dull. I had to watch it in 2 days to get through the movie without falling asleep. It did have a few funny parts, but the overall plot and story behind the movie makes the movie horrible.

Tony B. gave it a7:
You really don't have to be a Boston Red Sox fan to enjoy this film, but it would probably help if you were. "Fever Pitch" has some sensible things to say about fanaticism, loyalty and compromise, and it says them well. The scenes on the field are realistic enough, but those outside Fenway Park and in the stands are the best I've ever seen in a film about baseball. Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon make an engaging couple, and they are complemented by a fine supporting cast.

Brian G gave it a2:
I love baseball. I hate this movie. Jimmy Fallon is a complete idiot in nearly every movie, and this one only exemplifies that even more. The movie is so scripted; you can easily guess the outcome, and what will happen next. Not to mention it is overly exaggerated. I know there are some extreme Red Sox fans, but this is ridiculous.

Elizabeth D. gave it a9:
Not a ten, but still an ah-mazing movie. Hated the thing with the pregency and the Red Sox booty pj thingy but still, great movie. I believe that's it easier to see when your a Red Sox fan but I'm a Yankee fan asnd still loved it - in fact my friend and I made fun of the bodies of all the baseball players thorughout the movie and had a blast. Go fricking see it everyone!

Robert gave it a3:
I gave it a three cause I could see how it might be appealing to some people. Yet it really isn't funny at all and its so cliched. I watched it with about six friends and it seemed every five mins we were correctly predicting what would happen next. Jimmy Fallon is really annoying in just about every movie. So I already have a low opinion of him. This movie is a real dog.

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