4.13.2005

Taking Medicine to Avoid a Fever

So much to write about, so little time!

So Fever Pitch as finally arrived. Excuse me if I don't run to the closest megaplex to watch a flailing Jimmy Fallon make an ass of himself and all of Red Sox nation. I like to think I'm above commercials and previews of movies since those are the tools marketers use to get people into the seats. I should be able to look at the plot summary and decide whether or not it would be an interesting movie to see. But...

1) New England's own Farrelly brothers, along with Jimmy (former no-sport fan, former Yankee fan, current Red Sox fan) Fallon are giving us the story of a socially imbalanced sports nut whose zeal for his local team is more of a social impediment than grace. This is were the filmmakers first go wrong.

Red Sox fans are extremely proud and knowledgeable. Zealous? Sure. Socially inept? Some of them; but to the point of weirding out all your friends and scaring off women? I don't think so. There are a lot more worse things about which to be enthusiastic. I just have a bad feeling this movie will paint Red Sox fans the wrong color in the eyes of the entire country.

Remember last year's Red Sox documentary, Still We Believe? That's how Red Sox fans should be remembered. Imagine if they had waited just one year to do the filming of that. It seems like there's a Red Sox-themed movie every year. Maybe 2006 will be The Johnny Damon Story: How I Whored.

2) Jimmy F-ing Fallon. I liked him on SNL for his Patrick Sullivan from Lexington routine (which could be the topic of another blog, since almost no one living in Lexington would get it). But for him to be a leading man and actually get Drew Barrymore?

3) Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore on the field after the Red Sox won it all. This is probably the most unforgivable act of them all, and it's not even in Fever Pitch! You may recall that Fox's cameras cut to Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore running onto the field to embrace, right as the entire Red Sox organization was coming onto the field to embrace also. I can see how the Farrellys were in a bind -- it was a great opportunity and it wasn't in the script for the Red Sox to win, because, hey, who would have thought they would actually win the World Series? But for Fox to cut away from the players' celebration to an actual scripted moment is just the complete rape of a historical moment. The World Series victory was for all the long-suffering fans and longtime players like Johnny Pesky and longtime employees... not for Hollywood to steal.

So, if this is just case of spite towards the filmmakers taking advantage of the greatest moment in Boston sports history, or a crappy, mismarketed trailer, maybe I will see the movie... for free... on HBO... on demand.

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