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The Perfect Catch
On the face of it, Nick Hornby's non-fiction book about his love for 'boring boring Arsenal' would seem an unlikely bet for a movie adaptation. Part overgrown adolescent confessional but mostly straight sports reportage, Fever Pitch became a best-seller on home ground and played surprisingly well away. Eight years ago it was made into a mediocre romantic comedy starring Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell, which Hornby scripted himself. 
Now comes the Hollywood adaptation courtesy of old pros Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, a writing team who go all the way back to Happy Days, with the Farrelly brothers installed behind the camera. Arsenal are out, and the Boston Red Sox are in. Bizarrely, that title Fever Pitch works even better for baseball. But of course the UK distributor has changed it so as to avoid any unfortunate confusion. Jimmy Fallon is the dedicated fan and teacher who has to get a grip on his obsession when corporate high flyer Drew Barrymore comes into his life at the worst possible time (ie, last season, when the Red Sox went into a highly uncharacteristic winning streak). The trans-Atlantic translation doesn't hurt a bit. Guys are the same everywhere. Where this version scores over its British counterpart is in finding something more like parity for the distaff side, even if la Barrymore's girly clique do come off as a Sex and the City fanclub. Cleaning up their act, the Farrellys haven't exactly honed their clumsy, sit-com mise-en-scene, and its obvious they were scrambling to keep up with the Sox' changing fortunes last year, but The Perfect Catch has a modest charm that's ultimately quite winning. 
Then again, maybe I was empathising too much. A few years ago I wandered around the back streets of Venice during the film festival desperately looking for a bar showing England away to Germany - getting score updates on my mobile as it turned into the most unlikely rout. Then, at the end of last season, I had the misfortune to be stuck in a maternity ward as my team, Liverpool, made the comeback of all time in the Champions League. Something very similar happens here to Mr. Fallon and I have to say my heart went out to him. Tom Charity 
More information about The Perfect Catch » Critics' ReviewsHeat A genuinely funny, sweet and unusual twist on the standard formula for Rom-Coms Eve Really funny, really honest... real romantic comedy Tiscali Utterly charming and funny Members' ReviewsReviews Voted Most HelpfulMost Recent Reviews |