How big of a fan do you have to be to want to remember a sporting event so badly that not only are you willing to rewatch it over and over, but you’ll watch a movie that walks through an entire season with the team from practices, to key games, the road to the championship, and then their win naming them world champions? At that point, it’s not enough to just love the team, you have to be enmeshed in the culture and think of it as something more than a hobby. It has to be part of you, and only certain franchises are known for eliciting that level of loyalty. In MLB, there a few but perhaps none as storied as the Boston Red Sox. In that respect, it makes sense that their two recent wins in the World Series after an 86-year curse would garner film tributes from fans, but that doesn’t mean they have any merit outside that limited audience, but for them Fall Classic at Fenway Park should prove more than a bit cathartic.
The 2004 film, narrated by Denis Leary, starts with an intro that best summarizes the mentality that would prompt such a film: fans always think “this is our year”. That blinding devotion took the Red Sox fans to a fever pitch with an intensity that grew and grew with every win in the face of odds that for 86 years had broken the hearts but not the spirits of Boston Red Sox fans. The 2007 film, narrated by Matt Damon, doesn’t have quite the same rationale behind it. Sure, it proved that 2004 wasn’t just a fluke, but in so doing it showed that perhaps the Red Sox club had finally, over years of trades and strategic posturing, lined up a solid team that could consistently deliver year in and year out. Even so, the deafening cacophony of team pride rings out in the film as once again, it walks through the momentous happenings of the season.
The biggest issue to be had is the writing they have Denis Leary and Matt Damon reading. For whatever reason the script waxes poetic and it just sounds like whoever wrote it is mourning the loss of their career as a nature documentary narrator. It’s painfully bad. Letting Leary or Damon adlib would have been far more interesting and probably would have been better.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Each film has its own collection of extras, but nothing too surprising or exciting. For the 2004 film you have the press conference announcing the hiring of General Manager Terry Francona, the David Ortiz ALCS walk-offs, the final outs of the Red Sox wins at the ALCS, the NLCS and the World Series, the Red Sox celebrations for the ALCS and World Series, and two featurettes about the pre-season and the team.
The 2007 film extras include the AL East clincher, the final outs of the ALDS and the World Series, J.D. Drew’s Grand Slam, Dustin Pedroia’s lead-off home run from the first game of the World Series, and the presentation of the World Series and MVP trophies.
"Fall Classic at Fenway Park" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is not rated. Sports. Starring Denis Leary, Matt Damon.
