Plot
Lindsay is stuck in the middle of her relationship with Ben and his passion for the Boston Red Sox.

Release Year: 2005

Rating: 6.2/10 (21,113 voted)

Critic's Score: 56/100

Director: Bobby Farrelly

Stars: Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Spevack

Storyline
When relaxed and charming Ben Wrightman meets workaholic Lindsey Meeks she finds him sweet and charming, they hit it off and when it is winter Ben can spend every waking hour with Lindsey, but when summer comes around the corner Lindsey discovers Ben's obsession with the Boston Red Sox. She thinks it is perfect until everything goes downhill for them.

Writers: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

Cast:
Drew Barrymore - Lindsey
Jimmy Fallon - Ben
Jason Spevack - Ben - 1980
Jack Kehler - Al
Scott Severance - Artie (as Scott H. Severance)
Jessamy Finet - Teresa (as Jessamy R. Finét)
Maureen Keiller - Viv
Lenny Clarke - Uncle Carl
Ione Skye - Molly
KaDee Strickland - Robin
Marissa Jaret Winokur - Sarah
Evan Helmuth - Troy
Brandon Craggs - Casey
Brett Murphy - Ryan
Isabella Fink - Audrey

Taglines: A Comedy About The Game Of Love.

Release Date: 8 April 2005

Filming Locations: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $12,400,125 (USA) (10 April 2005) (3267 Screens)

Gross: $42,071,069 (USA) (7 August 2005)

Runtime: 104 min

Trivia:
Ben has a gigantic replica of Fenway Park's left field wall (a.k.a. "The Green Monster") on the wall of his apartment. In real life and in his apartment, the wall includes a hand-operated scoreboard. The particular game immortalized on Ben's mural is that of Game 3 of the 1999 American League Championship Series, won by the Red Sox over the N.Y. Yankees, 13-1. Before Boston's conquest of New York in 2004 (depicted at the end of the film), the '99 game was one of the most memorable Boston wins in recent memory.

Goofs:
Continuity: When Lindsey is talking to her mom in the kitchen, you can see a glass of beer by a plate of cookies. In the next shot the glass is gone then it reappears in the next shot beside the coffee pot.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Al: [voice over] Eighty-six years of bangin' our heads against the big green wall, but we finally did it. That part you know. That part everybody knows. But I got a story you don't know. It's about this schoolteacher friend of mine named Ben.

A Classic (and great!) Romantic Comedy

Rating: 9/10

What I expected: A rather lame overly-stereotypical portrayal of a sports-mad guy and an equally lame stereotypical portrayal of the gal who likes him yet suffers while being second banana to his overly zealous support for his favorite sports team.

What I got: An even-handed story where both guy and gal end up admitting -- to themselves and each other -- that they each have passions in their lives yet each can forgive the other to save the love they share.

Sounds sappy but with the nonstop humor and terrific performances this story works! Barrymore is classic Barrymore: that perfect blend of sweet, strong, and adorable. We expect that from her and she delivered.

But Fallon is the nice surprise in this film. He brings to the role the perfect blend of sports nut combined with the appreciation for the normal things in life, like caring about kids and his girlfriend. Fallon delivers his lines with subtle perfection. He can be caring ("You just ran across the field for me!") and in the same breath be obliviously blinded by his love for the Red Sox ("How did the grass feel? Kinda spongy?") at the same time. Fallon's portrayal "made" the movie. Hopefully, this movie marks the beginning of a better film career for Fallon, something beyond the over-the-top sophomoric humor typical of SNL alums (i.e. Will Ferrell).

In short, a movie that could have fallen victim to stereotypical male vs. female characters rose above that limitation and provided nonstop spot-on humorous lines, most delivered with brilliant subtlety by Fallon.

Hey, I saw this with my wife -- not a baseball fan -- and she loved it as much as I did. It's neither a "Guy Flick" nor a "Chick Flick". It's a terrific make-you-laugh flick. Go see it!

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