Ben (Jimmy Fallon) is a high school mathematics teacher who is addicted to the Boston Red Sox. Since seeing his first game at seven years of age with his uncle, he has given all his attention and enthusiasm to the baseball team that stumbles one year after another under the curse of the Bambino. The season tickets he inherited when his uncle passed away are his passport to staying forever young. The loyal fans who surround him at the games are his true family. His bedroom is a shrine to the players and the history of the Red Sox. Needless to say, this obsession has put a roadblock in his relationships with women.
All that changes when he meets Lindsey (Drew Barrymore), a charming young woman who is climbing the corporate ladder at a prestigious firm. At first, she doesn't want to go out with this schoolteacher who dresses very casually and is so unlike the other men she has dated. But they both feel very relaxed with each other. Lindsey's uptight friend Robin (Kadee Strickland) is convinced that there must be a reason why Ben is still available at almost 30 years of age. The die-hard baseball fan finally gets around to telling Lindsey about his devotion to the Red Sox. She sees him on television watching the team in Florida for spring training and has second thoughts. Sitting with Ben at the opening game of the season, Lindsey realizes that they will have to do a lot of work on the nature and meaning of their relationship in the coming months.
Fever Pitch is directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly (There's Something About Mary) and adapted from a novel by Nick Hornby by veteran screenplay writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, Parenthood, A League of Their Own). This talented combo delivers a light-hearted comedy that ought to appeal to a very broad audience with its treatment of sports, corporate advancement, and romance. Drew Barrymore delivers another fresh and effortless performance, and Jimmy Fallon manages the difficult feat of making the obsessive Ben into a sympathetic character. Couples with very different approaches to work and their use of leisure time will identify with Ben and Lindsey's struggle to stay together in the face of formidable challenges.
