Cat Scratch Fever

Yes, I know "Cat Scratch Fever" may be a stretch in a post about the movie "Fever Pitch." The lesson, as always, is I'm a failure as a blogger.

I knew going in I wouldn't be overly thrilled with the movie Fever Pitch. First and foremost, it starred form SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't filmed live, so I didn't have the joy of waiting for him to start laughing during the scene and ruining every sketch.

Secondly, it was a chick flick disguised as a baseball movie. Instead of potentially losing her man to another woman, Drew Barrymore had to fight to keep from losing her man to the Boston Red Sox.

Finally, the whole time I was watching, I never forgot I was watching a movie. I never connected with the characters in a way that I cared what happened. If anything, I found myself enjoying the baseball scenes and reliving the 2004 playoffs than anything the movie had to offer.

In fact, if you see only one movie this year, I recommend you getting out more. However, if you're limiting yourself to just one movie, don't let it be this one.

For those who haven't seen it, here's a quick plot summary (without revealing the ending in case my diatribe against this movie isn't enough to convince you to avoid it.). Fallon is a huge Red Sox fan and hasn't missed an inning of a home game in several years. In October, 2003, he meets Barrymore and begins a relationship with her. (My first major problem with the movie. No diehard Red Sox fan would be emotionally available in October, 2003 to begin a new relationship. If you recall (or didn't know), Red Sox fans had their hearts ripped out, stomped on and handed back to them with a "better luck next time" by the Yankees, who ended the Red Sox World series dream with an extra-inning home run in Game 7. Anyone who claims to be a Red Sox fan would have been in such a deep funk that he would have been intolerable for several weeks afterward. I should know, the Cubs did that to me in 2003 and I know I wasn't pleasant to be around.)

Anyway, they date though the winter and then, when baseball season rolls around, Fallon tells Barrymore he can't meet her family in Baltimore because he and his buddies are going to Spring Training in Florida. That's when the trouble starts. Barrymore expects Fallon to make some sacrifices for him, Fallon doesn't want to give up something he's loved for the past 23 years.

This leads to my second complaint about the movie. Drew Barrymore is cute, but she's not cute enough that you would abandon your team for.

The movie has some decent one-liners and if you're not a hardcore sports fan who can tell how the directors manipulated the game footage to fit their needs, I guess it's not a terrible movie. It definitely wouldn't make Scott's 50 Movies Every Guy should Own list.

Also this weekend, we watched "The Wedding Date," which was better than "Fever Pitch," if only because it had Debra Messing in it. However, when the plot of your movie is that a woman who looks like Debra Messing can't get a date for her sister's wedding, you're again asking me to take a leap into make believe that I'm not sure needs to be taken. (Debra Messing may be someone you would consider giving up baseball for, but I think in the end, baseball would win that battle as well.)

In case you couldn't tell, Yes Dear wanted a relaxing weekend after working on her thesis for the better part of the past several months.

Weekend update: Not much to report from this weekend. Football, movies, dinner with the parents and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan pretty much took up my weekend. Sadly, I'll never get those two days back. (On a related note, I don't like Jill Hennessey's new boyfriend on Crossing Jordan. He's the stereotypical reporter - obnoxious, intrusive and downright annoying - and there's no way he could get someone as attractive as Hennessey in real life.)

Fantasy update: Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas hasn't asked me to be her publicist yet, and in other fantasy news, the Fighting Squirrels should go 1-1 this week as we currently lead 78-57 in one league, with my opponent having no one playing in tonight's game. In the other, I've lost 68-53, giving me a three-week losing streak. (And while we're on the subject of fantasy sports, do you think players ever get upset when fans complain about how the player's performance affects his fantasy team. You know the players all want to turn and yell "get a life you loser" but don't want to read about it on some message board or desultory blog.)

TV Show update: If you're not watching "How I Met Your Mother" (Monday's, 8:30 Eastern on CBS), please take 30 minutes out of your week to give it a shot. It's pretty good, plus it has Doogie Houser in it, which bumps it up about 3 notches in my book. Remember, all suggestions by The Nexus of the Universe are just that, suggestions. If you don't like it, please don't blame me for wasting 30 minutes of your life.

As always, thanks for choosing to make me a part of your day. There are thousands of blogs to choose from and I appreciate you picking mine to read.