As you may have seen elsewhere on our website or social media channels, we’re fully caught up in football fever at the moment. Fresh off the back of the Champions League and Europa League finals, attention has already turned to this summer’s European Championships. So, with all this “soccer” around (sorry to the Brits for that one) we felt it fitting to dedicate this month’s Good Vibes film review to a classic football movie.
Fever Pitch is technically a romcom. Although you could make a strong case that the most prominent love affair in it isn’t about a man and woman, but about a man and his football club.
Colin Firth stars as Paul, an English teacher who is obsessed with football. When we say obsessed, we mean really obsessed. His entire life is centred around his team, Arsenal. Ruth Gemmell is Sarah, a new teacher at his school who has absolutely zero interest in the beautiful game. What begins as a frosty relationship between the two of them develops into a romance, which is all good and well, except for the fact that Paul’s fanaticism and obsession keep getting in the way.
Now, we won’t spoil all of the plot for you, but you can probably imagine how this one is going to end. It isn’t really about that though, it’s about the journey getting there. The film plays out against the backdrop of Arsenal’s famous 1988-89 title-win, which culminated in a dramatic, last-minute win on the final day of the season. That the story is interwoven with real-life events and even footage, definitely adds a nice layer to the story.
In fact, for us, it’s that element of realism that sets Fever Pitch apart from many other sporting and football movies. This isn’t some unbelievable fantasy movie where our main character is the underdog who is going to blast the winning goal against a team of villains, saving the day at the end. It’s about people who are genuine and believable, in a realistic situation that probably many real people have related to.
In addition to that, there are plenty of other things to like about it as well. As you might expect from a British film from the 1990s, it has a charming and pleasant aesthetic feel to it, a decent soundtrack, and of course, a great sense of humour running through it. You can see why we’re fans, right?
We aren’t the only ones. In 2005, a remake for American audiences was released, but with a different cast and with football switched out for baseball... We’ll stick to the original though thanks.
Whilst this film might be more relatable if you or someone close to you is a football obsessive, it doesn’t really matter if you are a football fan or not, this is still 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) of heartwarming, enjoyable cinema. And if you aren’t already hyped to come and watch the football with us, we think that after watching this you might be.
