‘Fever’ fails to knock it out of the park

The Farrelly brothers are famous for goofball humor that stretches

the limits of good taste to the breaking point. “Dumb and Dumber” and

“There’s Something About Mary” are just two examples of the wild and

crazy genre they helped create.

But their usual raunchy ways take a definitely mellow turn in the

sweet, romantic comedy “Fever Pitch.”

Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” is perfectly cast as a high

school teacher and obsessed fan of the Boston Red Sox. Drew Barrymore

is the hard charging businesswoman who becomes involved with him in

an unlikely dating relationship.

Within this premise, the predictable plot developments play out to

their logical conclusions. But their romance takes enough interesting

and realistic turns to shed a little light on issues of grown-up love

and major life decisions.

One of the joys of the movie is that all the baseball scenes were

shot at Red Sox games during the 2004 season. No Hollywood writer

could have come up with more a dramatic story, as the real-life Red

Sox overcame historic deficits to win their first World Series in 86

years.

The personal drama that plays out between the lovers is given

energy by this factual background.

No doubt, “Fever Pitch” is sweet and cute and family friendly. But

in the end, you’ll find this amusing diversion to be as lightweight

as popcorn.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.