Fever Pitch (1997) Movie Review

Yoiks! Not long after High Fidelity, Nick Hornby wrote another book about the perils of romance -- this time because a guy (Colin Firth) can't seem to let go of his soccer mania long enough to give any heed to his girlfriend (Ruth Gemmell). Sounds like it could potentially make an interesting romantic comedy, but never mind the half-naked girl on the cover of the video, Fever Pitch is about as exciting as being trampled at the World Cup. Immediately snoozy, Hornby explores the origins of Firth's insance fandom -- trying to explain why a grown man is so obsessed with a small, local soccer team winning the big championship. The failure for the explanation to make sense is as much the fault of the story as it is the British accents, so unbearably thick they might as well be Russian. For a much better, wacky look at British romance, check out When Brendan Met Trudy or even Bridget Jones's Diary.