The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 11, 2005, Page 7, Image 7
; ...
MOVIE REVIEW
Stale humor
strikes out
Fever Pitch ’
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Fallon and Barrymore star in “Fever Pitch,"
the adaptation of Nick Flornby’s novel.
“FEVER PITCH”
★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By MARJORIE RIDDLE
FOR THE GAMECOCK
Intending to hit a home run of a film,
the Farrelly Brothers strike out instead
with “Fever Pitch.”
While the preview for this Jimmy
Fallon-Drew Barrymore comedy promises
a funny yet heartwarming tale about a man
whose obsession with the Boston Red Sox
causes him to risk losing his dream girl, the
only decent scenes are those incorporated
into the trailer and the actual Red Sox
baseball footage.
Barrymore stars as Lindsey Meeks, a
successful businesswoman on the verge of
her 30th birthday and an impending
promotion. Lindsey meets high-school
teacher Ben Wrightman, played by
Fallon, when he brings his honors
geometry class to tour Lindsey’s
workplace.
After coming to terms with Ben’s
modest job as a teacher, Lindsey and Ben
begin dating. Their relationship seems to
progress well with few unexpected setbacks
until the baseball season approaches.
Lindsey learns that Ben is a fanatical
follower of the Boston Red Sox, and he
bases his life around the Red Sox’s season.
Ben’s uncle taught him to love the game
when he was a kid and left season tickets to
him after he died.
Lindsey’s work schedule and Ben’s
baseball schedule conflict, and they have to
spend more time apart. Initially, this
creates little turmoil, but Lindsey comes to
realize Ben’s love for the game comes above
everything and everyone else — even her.
Ben admits he fell in love with baseball
as a lonely child because he had nothing
else, but now that he’s found someone he
can love possibly more than the Red Sox,
can he give up the game for that love? And
should he have to?
Obsessive sports fans will likely relate to
the struggle in getting others to
understand their passion for the game
when their fanaticism seems absolutely
ludicrous. Fallon does an adequate job of
playing the infatuated Ben, but Ben’s
wardrobe and the bedecked set do the
convincing of his diehard love for the
team.
Viewers tend to either adore or abhor
Barrymore — she is just above mediocre in
her performance as the workaholic
Lindsey.
The film exhibits the kind of humor
that makes viewers cringe while they’re
laughing. When Lindsey is hit with a line
drive foul ball, a subsequent scene elicits
laughs, showing an enormous, grotesque
bump on her forehead.
“Fever Pitch” directors Bobby and Peter
Farrelly, affectionately known ^as the
Farrelly Brothers, also directed There s
Something About Mary” and Dumb and
Dumber,” but unlike these films, Fever
Pitch” presents stale humor with its
considerably unoriginal script.
Perhaps the Farrelly brothers were
drawn to the story because it involved the
Red Sox and the infamous “curse of the
Bambino.” As luck would have it, the
year this movie was filmed and in post
production, the Red Sox actually won the
World Series and the “curse” was
officially lifted. This long-awaited victory
slightly altered the intended ending of
the film, emphasizing the Red Sox s
success.
_ ... . L
i ne rum would nave uecu
with more footage of the Red Sox s
miraculous season and less of Fallon and
Barrymore’s characters. The meshing of
the storyline with Red Sox games was the
movie’s only existing attribute of
originality and desirability.
Boston Red Sox fans should see the film,
but only for sentimental reasons, because
like 86 years of waiting for a World Series
title, the muddled, half-hearted laughter
that comes with “Fever Pitch” is sure to
disappoint.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gum.sc. edu
Chicago comedy troupe comes to Columbia
Do you like to laugh?
Are you having
trouble finding
something really
funny going on in
your everyday life here in Columbia?
Have you finally grown weary of your
only humor coming from your
classmate’s poor fashion choices?
If any of these questions pertain to
you, then I bet you are pretty bummed
about not laughing a lot.
However, tomorrow this will all
change for a day as Chicago’s world
renowned Second City comedy troupe
will march into Columbia and put on a
rare performance at the Koger Center
beginning at 8 p.m.
Second City turned 45-years-old
this year and has served as the
launching pad for many of your very
favorite comics.
Beloved comics such as John
Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray,
Chris Farley, John Candy and The
Ladies Man himself, Tim Meadows all
honed their craft before they moved
onto bigger endeavors such as
“Saturday Night Live” or even more
huge, the John Candy/Macaulay
Culkin masterpiece, “Uncle Buck.”
c-- „,:ii
some of the group’s best sketches,
songs and improvisations in their
history.
And while some of these comics
may be better known for their fast
lifestyles, there’s no denying the fact
that they have all been incredible
talents.
The performance, will be featuring
some of the group’s best sketches,
songs and improvisations in the
troupe’s illustrious history. It will
also be the opportunity to see many
comics before they break it big.
Based on the troupe’s alumni
roster, it is almost a certainty that
one of tomorrow’s great stars will be
♦ Please see COMEDY, page 8
♦ December 1959: The Second
City opens at 1842 N. Wells in
Chicago.
♦ February 1967: The Second City
Touring Company is developed to
bring improvisationai theater to
American cities.
♦ October 1975: Saturday Night
Live debuts on NBC with Second i
City alums John Belushi, Dan
Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Bill
Murray the next season.
♦ September 1982: SCTV is
nominated for 7 Emmys, wins for
Best Writing for a Variety Show.
♦ March 1983: The Second
City/John Belushi Scholarship Fund
established.
♦ June 1988: Mike Myers joins
Bonnie Hunt and Barb Wallace at
SC Chicago in “Kuwait Until Dark
or Bright Lights, Night Baseball,”
the 70th revue.
♦ October 1988: The Second City
and Ron Howard’s Imagine films
form a joint television venture
♦ April 1991: The Second City and
Walt Disney Television enter into a
long-term production venture.
♦ August 2001: The Second City
tours Saudia Arabia, Kuwait and
U.A.E. on a U.S.O. tour.
♦ November 2001: The Second
City addresses the World Trade
Center attacks in the cathartic and
critically acclaimed, “Holy War,
Batman!”
♦ March 2003: The Second City
celebrates its 1,000th performance
at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Timeline Courtesy: The Second City Official Web site
CD REVIEW
Bianco reveals musings
of the sex-driven male
i-- --■ I —. ...
Jtty b?a nCe>
“HANDSOME DEVIL”
Jim Bianco
★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By JENNIFER FREEMAN
THE MIX EDITOR
Jim Bianco will seduce audiences with
his mix of playful songs alternating with
brutally honest tunes about the male
mentality, all sung with a provocative,
raspy growl.
Bianco’s distinctive vocal sounds will
be what first draws audiences in, but it
soon becomes clear that the lyrics and
music are what will give Bianco the edge
to make him a lasting musician.
Bianco does an admirable job of
mixing genres and combining folk, jazz,
rock and pop. On other albums this
might be overwhelming, but this album
avoids that path by maintaining an
underlying thread of similarity in the
subject matter. t
“Handsome Devil” is Bianco’s second
IF YOU’RE GOING
WHAT: Jim Bianco and Adam
Whiting
WHERE: Jammin’ Java, 1530
Main St.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday
album, with a sophisticated mix of songs all
dealing with the male psyche. In. the
Nashville, Tenn., City Paper, Bianco said,
“These songs aren’t cynical; they’re dark.
This shows a side of males that they often
try to hide, but which can be found to some
extent in all of us. The difference with the
character is that he doesn’t try to suppress of
hide any of this. He’s unaware of the
consequences of these actions until they
happen, but then he has to deal with them.”
If all the songs are supposed to be about
the same “Handsome Devil,” Bianco does
an amazing job of covering the whole
range of emotions. The title track and
other tracks like “Goodness Gracious” go
to the heart of a sex-driven man.
“Goodness Gracious” delivers a New
Orleans jazz-sounding, unapologetic
admission of what a man wants from a
woman wearing “spaghetti straps upon a
marinara dress, stiletto heels and a cross
across your chest.” Bianco admits that
“the sheets are clean but the mind is dirty”
to the background sounds of catcalls and
applause.
“Handsome Devil” first establishes
the suave atmosphere that fits so
♦ Please see BIANCO, page 8
PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS
Men don't need to sacrifice style. Brightly colored shirts can be paired with
tailored suits and matching pocket squares for fashionable looks.
Stylish ensembles
can work for men
By JAMES H. BURNETT III
KRT CAMPUS
For many American men, being told
you do anything “like a girl” is
considered an insult.
Throwing. Hitting. Running. You
get the idea.
But fellas, if you haven’t figured out
yet what makes for a hot wardrobe, it’s
about time you learned to shop . . . like
a girl or better yet, a woman.
While many women understand the
concept of buying clothing, mixing and
matching items to create multiple
outfits, many men shop by mannequin
— purchasing outfits that don’t work
with other clothes.
Following the plastic guy s lead is
not always a bad thing if you’re
stumped, says our expert, Clinton
Kelly, co-host of The Learning
Channel’s “What Not to Wear,” the
show that helps the hapless dress to fit
their bodies and ages.
Kelly suggests you follow these tips:
Shop for pants first. “Start on the
bottom. Generally men’s trousers don’t
come in as many colors as women’s.
They tend to come in neutral colors,
like black, charcoal gray, khaki. If you
stick with neutral on the bottom, that’s
gonna make your life 100 percent easier,
because with a neutral color as a
♦ Please see STYLE, page 8