This is just out on dvd. I wanted to see it because I like Nick Hornby, I like the Farrelly brothers, I like Drew Barrymore and I love baseball.
So, it was a big disappointment to find that this movie is a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy which represents everything I hate about writers who follow the general screenwriting paradigm. On top of that, there is virtually no comedy. There are some amusing moments, but no real laughs. (and on top of THAT, they revised the ending to show the Red Sox actually winning the World Series......bleh)
Here is a rundown of the story. I would say there are spoilers, if it werent all so predictable.
First, we meet GUY, who is a teacher. He doesnt always follow the curriculum, but he has a big heart. Also, he is an orphan, which not only invokes sympathy, but dispenses with any uneccesary characters.
Then, we meet GIRL. Shes an executive who never had time to settle down. Shes always looking at papers or talking on her cellphone, usually while walking very fast because shes got places to go. Shes bucking for a promotion.
GUY asks GIRL out on a date. At first she says no, in part because her ****-blocking friends dont like the sound of this guy. No reason for this, except the story needed some CONFLICT.
He's upset. You can tell because he tackles some people during a touch football game.
She relents, in part because shes the BIG 30 and isnt getting any younger. But on the night of the first date, she gets food poisoning. Instead of running out the door, he puts her to bed and stays all night to make sure shes okay. This makes her fall for him. (it doesnt seem creepy to her that a stranger stays in her apartment all night while she's passed out).
They continue to date all Winter (we can tell because there is a montage of them being happy together).
But here's the catch. GUY is really a maniacal Red Sox Fan. It consumes his life during the summer months. (How a teacher can afford $20,000 worth of season tickets isn't adressed. But hey, it's only a movie).
This causes some stress because she wants them to spend time together. He takes her to lots of games, but shes usually on her laptop or cellphone. Work, work, work......
Baseball season is l-o-n-g. Luckily, there is a montage which whisks up right through to October.
The Sox have made the playoffs, and GUY is so consumed by it he doesn't notice that GIRL is seeing someone else.
Anyway, some other stuff happens, and the Sox win the big game, and eveybody lives happily ever after.
The screenplay has characters acting caring and rational when it requires them to fall in love, and then acting distracted and irrational when it needs some conflict. There is not one original thought or compelling idea anywhere, and if it were not for the Sox pulling that one out of their butts, this movie would have been DOA.
I did laugh once, though, when Fallon did his Jimmy Stewart impression.
That gets me every time.
So, it was a big disappointment to find that this movie is a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy which represents everything I hate about writers who follow the general screenwriting paradigm. On top of that, there is virtually no comedy. There are some amusing moments, but no real laughs. (and on top of THAT, they revised the ending to show the Red Sox actually winning the World Series......bleh)
Here is a rundown of the story. I would say there are spoilers, if it werent all so predictable.
First, we meet GUY, who is a teacher. He doesnt always follow the curriculum, but he has a big heart. Also, he is an orphan, which not only invokes sympathy, but dispenses with any uneccesary characters.
Then, we meet GIRL. Shes an executive who never had time to settle down. Shes always looking at papers or talking on her cellphone, usually while walking very fast because shes got places to go. Shes bucking for a promotion.
GUY asks GIRL out on a date. At first she says no, in part because her ****-blocking friends dont like the sound of this guy. No reason for this, except the story needed some CONFLICT.
He's upset. You can tell because he tackles some people during a touch football game.
She relents, in part because shes the BIG 30 and isnt getting any younger. But on the night of the first date, she gets food poisoning. Instead of running out the door, he puts her to bed and stays all night to make sure shes okay. This makes her fall for him. (it doesnt seem creepy to her that a stranger stays in her apartment all night while she's passed out).
They continue to date all Winter (we can tell because there is a montage of them being happy together).
But here's the catch. GUY is really a maniacal Red Sox Fan. It consumes his life during the summer months. (How a teacher can afford $20,000 worth of season tickets isn't adressed. But hey, it's only a movie).
This causes some stress because she wants them to spend time together. He takes her to lots of games, but shes usually on her laptop or cellphone. Work, work, work......
Baseball season is l-o-n-g. Luckily, there is a montage which whisks up right through to October.
The Sox have made the playoffs, and GUY is so consumed by it he doesn't notice that GIRL is seeing someone else.
Anyway, some other stuff happens, and the Sox win the big game, and eveybody lives happily ever after.
The screenplay has characters acting caring and rational when it requires them to fall in love, and then acting distracted and irrational when it needs some conflict. There is not one original thought or compelling idea anywhere, and if it were not for the Sox pulling that one out of their butts, this movie would have been DOA.
I did laugh once, though, when Fallon did his Jimmy Stewart impression.
That gets me every time.
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