Critical Consensus: Pitch Fever Has Edge Over Sahara
With the start of Spring and the coming of Summer, this weekend presents us with a baseball movie and an action-adventure set in the Sahara desert. Baseball or hot desert sand, which will critics choose?
After headlining the surprisingly successful romantic comedy “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Matthew McConaughey tries his hand at action-adventure with “Sahara.” He takes on the role of a master explorer who embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa. Joining him in the adventure are Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn. Critics didn’t think much of last year’s similarly themed, Nicolas Cage adventurer “National Treasure,” which only received recommendations from 40% of the critics. “Sahara” didn’t fare much better. As of this writing, its Tomatometer reads 42%. This is a well below Matthew McConaughey’s average Tomatometer of 56%. Some of the national print, online, and broadcast critics think it’s mindless fun; others think its just mindless.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After his big screen debut with Queen Latifah "Taxi" got hammered by critics with a 10% on the Tomatometer and didn’t make much of an impression at the box office, Jimmy Fallon tries his luck with Drew Barrymore and the Farrelly brothers in a romantic comedy about a man who must choose between the two loves of his life – The Boston Red Sox and his girlfriend. Between “Fever Pitch” and “Taxi,” the choice isn’t as tough for critics though. As of this writing, “Fever Pitch” scored a Fresh 66% on the Tomatometer, a major improvement over “Taxi.” It’s above Drew Barrymore’s average Tomatometer of 56%. Although critics don't think there are enough laughs or chemistry between the leads to make it a home run, the movie is sweet, likable and does a great job of showing what it means to be an obsessed fan.
While "Fever Pitch" has its share of problems, it looks like the film has the slight edge with critics this weekend.
After headlining the surprisingly successful romantic comedy “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Matthew McConaughey tries his hand at action-adventure with “Sahara.” He takes on the role of a master explorer who embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa. Joining him in the adventure are Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn. Critics didn’t think much of last year’s similarly themed, Nicolas Cage adventurer “National Treasure,” which only received recommendations from 40% of the critics. “Sahara” didn’t fare much better. As of this writing, its Tomatometer reads 42%. This is a well below Matthew McConaughey’s average Tomatometer of 56%. Some of the national print, online, and broadcast critics think it’s mindless fun; others think its just mindless.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After his big screen debut with Queen Latifah "Taxi" got hammered by critics with a 10% on the Tomatometer and didn’t make much of an impression at the box office, Jimmy Fallon tries his luck with Drew Barrymore and the Farrelly brothers in a romantic comedy about a man who must choose between the two loves of his life – The Boston Red Sox and his girlfriend. Between “Fever Pitch” and “Taxi,” the choice isn’t as tough for critics though. As of this writing, “Fever Pitch” scored a Fresh 66% on the Tomatometer, a major improvement over “Taxi.” It’s above Drew Barrymore’s average Tomatometer of 56%. Although critics don't think there are enough laughs or chemistry between the leads to make it a home run, the movie is sweet, likable and does a great job of showing what it means to be an obsessed fan.
While "Fever Pitch" has its share of problems, it looks like the film has the slight edge with critics this weekend.
Related Items
| Movie: | Taxi |
| How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days | |
| Celeb: | Matthew McConaughey |
| Drew Barrymore | |
| Jimmy Fallon | |
| Penélope Cruz | |
| Steve Zahn |
![]() on Apr 07 2005 09:04 PM I'm a big Clive Cussler fan and I'm really hoping that Sahara will be faithful to the book, but I'm not holding my breath, especially since it's a Disney film and it's directed by Michael Eisner's son. Fever Pitch looks like pure crap. (Reply to this) |
|
on Apr 08 2005 12:59 AM Disney? Its not Disney. It's Paramount. (Reply to this) |
![]() on Apr 08 2005 02:59 AM [b]Whatever.[/b] Yeah, whatever... Personally, when considering the BIG screen viewing experience, I'd still prefer to waste money on an MINDLESS Adventure flick. Now, that's just so critics know this. (Reply to this) |
![]() on Apr 09 2005 09:30 AM In reply to this comment (#821222) My bad. I thought I had read that Disney was in some way involved in this film, but I was apparently wrong. (Reply to this) |
|
on Apr 10 2005 12:01 PM [b]What Crap[/b] I've noticed that Rotten Tomatoes has recently began predicting how movies will fare over weekends with all sorts of so-called data from critics and whatnot. Maybe the crappy result of Fever Pitch over the weekend will shut the critics up. "Critical Concensus" my sweet... (Reply to this) |
![]() on Apr 11 2005 01:53 AM In reply to this comment (#821225) This is just a weekly summary of reviews, not a box office prediction. The two are obviously very different. Although Fever Pitch is better reviewed than Sahara, I wouldn't predict that it would do better at the box office. (Reply to this) |
Most Discussed
- Five Favorite Films with Paris Hilton 128
- The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage 49
- Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens? 45
- Critics Consensus: Chihuahua a Dog; Nick and Norah a Hot Item 43
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chihuahua is Top Dog 40
- RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered 24
- Total Recall: The 15 Greatest Paul Newman Movies 23
- Box Office Guru Preview: Chihuahua to Overtake Multiplexes 18
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary 3
Latest News
- RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered 24
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2 3
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chihuahua is Top Dog 40
- Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens? 45
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- UK Critics Consensus: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People Does Just That; Whilst Brideshead Revisited Is Resisted 1
- Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary 3
- Critics Consensus: Chihuahua a Dog; Nick and Norah a Hot Item 43
- Box Office Guru Preview: Chihuahua to Overtake Multiplexes 18
- The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage 49
Latest Interviews
- RT Interview: Jason Statham Chats Death Race, Crank 2 and The Sweeney 9
- Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT 13
- Video Exclusive: Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser and the Mummy 3 Cast Talk to RT 14
- RT goes behind the scenes on Stargate: Continuum 4
- Starship Troopers' Casper Van Dien Shares His Five Favorite Films 48
- RT Interview: Philippe Petit on Crossing the Twin Towers on a Wire 2
- RT Interview: David Duchovny on The X-Files, Californication and Directing 11
- RT Interview: Ben Barnes on Taking on the Journey of Prince Caspian 1
- RT Interview: William Moseley on His Last Narnia Adventure in Prince Caspian 2
- RT Interview: Jack Black on Kung Fu Panda 6
Latest Features
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2 3
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- Five Favorite Films with Paris Hilton 128
- Exclusive: Brand New The Children Photos and Director Introduction 5
- Five Favorite Films with Chuck Palahniuk 38
- Five Favorite Films with Dane Cook 103
- Five Favorite Films with Eva Mendes 51
- What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? 86
- RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films! 77
- What The Hell Happened To Shannon Elizabeth? 101



