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.
