Review of Perfect Catch

Introduction

If you enjoyed Nick Hornby`s `Fever Pitch` or the 1997 movie of the same name (featuring a die-hard Arsenal suddenly having to grow-up and face new adult realities after he falls in love, played superbly by Colin Firth), then there`s no reason not to enjoy this Americanised version of the same.

Following a very successful US adaptation of Hornby`s `High Fidelity`, and the enormous popularity of `About a Boy` on both sides of the pond, there seemed to be no reason not to have a crack at this, removing the references to soccer that would have rendered the UK `Fever Pitch` movie unattractive to US audiences.

Sometimes with movie adaptations, the conceit gets lost in translation but there`s no problem like that evident here. With the Farrelly brothers at the helm (There`s Something About Mary & Dumb and Dumber), this is a thoroughly enjoyable and successful transference with baseball replacing our beloved `soccer`. But you won`t need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this.
Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore) is an incredibly successful mathematician, working as a high-powered executive in a business consultancy. In the middle of another hectic week she receives school teacher Ben Wainright (Jimmy Fallon) and his class of disinterested students into her world so that they can see how `real mathematicians` work in the real world. They all declare her cool, including Ben who returns to ask her out on a date. Attracted to his zany humour and whacky personality she finally accepts.

When Ben arrives at her apartment though she has food poisoning and Ben sticks around, caring for her and cleaning up her vomit - and even tidying her apartment and washing her clothes while she lies feverishly in bed. She`s never met a man quite like him and she and her friends speculate on why such a nice guy would still be single. But then she`s about to find out!

As a seriously obsessive Red Sox fan, Ben is very available off-season, but as the summer season progresses it becomes clear that they are the most important thing in his life. The prospects of missing a game is unthinkable.

At first, Lindsey finds his devotion to the Sox an attractive trait, and she goes along to some of the initial games. But she soon realises that a constant commitment to the cause is starting to get in the way. When Ben decides to forgo an opportunity for her to go to Paris with her (at a time when she thinks she may be expecting his baby) she decides enough is enough and calls it a day.

A broken Ben suddenly faces the facts and in an epiphanus moment, sees some Sox players in a bar enjoying a meal, laughing and smiling even after losing a game. (Ben and his friends are near suicidal over the loss). He realises that his love of the Sox is one-sided, and decides to give up his precious seats which had been worth more than life itself to him.

Discovering the enormity of this sacrifice, Lindsey sets out to win him back in one of the most romantic endings you`re likely to see this side of the US ending of `Pride and Prejudice`.

The whole movie is thoroughly enjoyable on just about every level. The chemistry between Barrymore and Fallon is very believable and the script is full of cute one-liners that, whilst not inciting belly laughs, will give you a few welcome smiles.

It`s not a deep-movie, nor a great movie, but it`s a perfectly good one that still delivers plenty to ponder upon, not least as a kind of mirror to reveal the nature of male obsession and the complete pointlessness of most of it.

Though this another in a long-line of decent and enjoyable Farrelly brothers comedies, this one has genuine warmth - and they`ve stayed faithful to the original conceit of the book without degenerating into the occasional sniggering tasteless comedy that is a feature of some of their earlier work.

It`s probably worth mentioning the happy coincidence of a Red Sox World Series win (the first since 1918) during the making of this movie, and much of that excitement is captured here.

Video

In a word - nice. This is not a painterly film, and not one that will have you gasping at the beauty of its cinematic composition, but it`s adequately and appropriately shot to reflect its subject matter.

Audio

A full 5.1 that really springs into life (surround-wise) when you`re in the Baseball stadium. Overall the balance between effects and score, and dialogue, is pretty much spot-on.

Features

Surprisingly for such a `fluffy` and disposable feel-good movie, this has a decent set of extras.
AUDIO COMMENTARY with Bobby and Peter Farrelly. It`s not quite the zany laugh a minute caper you might expect and is actually pretty informative. However, unless you really WANT to know which bits used CG Post, all you`re left with is a little bit of warm sentimentality about the making of the movie, which, given its content, is no bad thing. My guess is that you won`t make it through to the end.

DELETED SCENES (18m04s): The usual ho-hum selection of adding nothing much scenes that hit the cutting room floor.

GAG REEL (5m43s): Predictably unfunny fluffs and ad-libs. They should reserve these for the after-premiere party as they`re undoubtedly much funnier for those involved than they are for us. Skip.

ALTERNATE ENDING (11m04s): Ooh `eck! Is it me? This is a real `spot the difference` piece. Very subtle differences render this extra virtually pointless.



INTERNET FEATURETTE 1: LOVE TRIANGLE sees Drew Barrymore explaining the three-way relationship between her character, her boyfriend and the Red Sox.

INTERNET FEATURETTE 2: BREAK THE CURSE briefly explores the so-called `curse` that stopped the Red Sox from winning the World Series for over 80 years.

MAKING A SCENE: Shows how shooting took place in the Busch Stadium during a Red Sox game against the St Louis Cardinals. A reasonably diverting 8 minutes or so.

TRAILER: Standard 2-minute theatrical trailer, just because there`s space.

The disc also features an `Inside Look` at IN HER SHOES, a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley Maclaine. This is positioned outside the `special features` section of the disc.

Conclusion

Though this could be classed as a relatively disposable fluffy feel-good movie, it`s thoroughly enjoyable and is one of those rare films that will have fairly universal appeal.

In common with 1997`s `Fever Pitch`, this is a fairly successful adaptation of Nick Hornby`s book, tailored for the American market and swapping Baseball for soccer. It`s a nice mix of emotive romance (that feels real and very human) and a comedic exploration of men`s obsession with sports. Though raucous laugh-aloud moments are few and far between, there`s an edgy sparkle throughout that works very nicely with the more serious issues raised in the film (about relationships, lifestyle, sacrifice, sharing and so on).

You don`t need to have any interest in Baseball (I don`t) to appreciate the movie, and the on-screen chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon is really very believable, making this a fun-to-watch feel-good movie.

It`s also rather tame by Farelly brother`s standards, so very little here to offend. Even your Grandmother`s going to like this one.

Overall, a very satisfying safe bet for an un-taxing evening in.