juneebuggy I'd heard a lot of good things about this movie but it didn't really do much for me, it was just okay. Sure it was funny and cute and heartwarming but I think I was expecting more humour as this is described as a "romantic comedy" and it was actually kind of sad.We follow Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth), who uses Arsenal to fill his life starting (through flashbacks)as a lonely young boy. He continues his obsession into adulthood, using the team as an emotional anchor and basing his whole life (and moods) on how well the team is playing. His new girlfriend doesn't get it, I mean it's just a game! Arsenal takes on a life of its own though, its the third person in the relationship, its an obsession, its a metaphor for life and sadly Arsenal keeps losing. (Maple Leafs anyone). On one level I could totally relate to Paul's character as a Canadian we're all about the hockey, its what we talk about and it rules everything.As okay as this movie was it was still 100% better than the American baseball remake which I didn't even make it all the way through. I will have to make a point of reading Nick Hornby's book. 05.13

Philby-3 Based on Nick Hornby's novel, this is a case study of soccer fanhood, or hopeless Arsenal supporteritis. The fan, played by Colin Firth in good-humour mode, is brought by his usually absent Dad (Neil Pearson) to a match as a twelve year old and is instantly hooked. He grows up (if that's the right phrase) to become an English teacher in a London comprehensive school and coach of the first XI soccer team, but he's still an ardent Arsenal fan, a team that hasn't (as of 1988) won a championship. He falls in love with a fellow teacher (Ruth Gemmell) but she finds life with a sports addict hard to take. Will he get the girl and his team (Arsenal) the championship? Stay tuned! This is a nice fuzzy warm sort of movie which gives the viewer lots of quiet chuckles. There is a somewhat understanding headmaster (Ken Stott), pleasantly cheeky children, and lots of like-minded fans. There is certainly lots of solidarity. How sane adults can become sports addicts I find impossible to understand fully, but a large part of it seems to be the buzz you get from a sense of belonging to something bigger than you – a substitution for religion perhaps.

hearsz By now you would have read enough reviews to know enough about the story and the characters.So here's my own opinion of Fever Pitch..Like the DVD cover states for this movie, "Love footie, hate footie, you'll love Fever Pitch". Fever Pitch defines how hundreds of millions of football fans feel around the world, who are as passionate as Paul (Colin Firth) is about Arsenal FC. The relationship with his father, how we handles his classroom and the teacher next door at the school are all realistic, especially if you're living in an obsessive football supporters world, or any sport for that matter..The fact that the Americans took this great script and tried to turn into a story of their own (See: The Perfect Catch) shows that it had great appeal on the otherside of the Atlantic.. The Americans sure have been lacking ideas lately and some have resorted to trying to remake old English classics, with somewhat less success.. e.g. The Italian Job, Alfie and now Fever Pitch If anything, in Fever Pitch you could see Colin Firth's potential to be more than just an English character actor and we all know where his early efforts have gotten him today.A funny film, well worth watching if you've ever been passionate about anything in life, regardless of what team you support..

fedor8 The biggest problem with this film is that an opportunity was missed to comedically exploit football-fan fanaticism. Instead, sport-fanaticism is taken far too seriously, considering what it really is, and although there is some humour at its expense, there wasn't enough of it. Somehow too much time is spent on soppy relationship nonsense, which goes nowhere. Still, the film isn't boring, and occasionally provides amusing insight into the world of the mindless football fan. The ending, with the main character desperately trying not to watch a championship match and being totally negative, is quite amusing, and there should have been more of that.