Some years ago I read (and liked) the book "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy), which was a collection of autobiographical anecdotes about his long lasting support of Arsenal, from 1968 when he become a fan until 1989, the year the Gunners won the First Division after almost 20 years.
The movie decides to eschew the book approach and fictionalizes the story as a sort of romantic comedy in which supposed opposites attract. It's 1989, and Colin Firth is Paul (Hornby's alter ego) a teacher at a school in London, and the movie is about his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell), a new teacher at the school. As their relationship develops, Paul seems sometimes more concerned about Arsenal's standing in the championship and the increasing likelihood that it will finally win the league. This to the dismay of Sarah, who hates football and is very uptight. Intercalated with these scenes, we see Paul as a young kid in the late 1960s, his relationship with his divorced father, and how he initially become an Arsenal fan.
One problem with the movie is that we never know what Sarah saw in Paul, since she is critical of him from the start (the first time they talk in the movie, she protests the noise his students are making in the classroom next to her own class). Their chemistry is basically zero. Of course, this is not the fault of either Firth or Gemmell (their acting is fine). It's the script that in my view took a wrong approach.
The movie decides to eschew the book approach and fictionalizes the story as a sort of romantic comedy in which supposed opposites attract. It's 1989, and Colin Firth is Paul (Hornby's alter ego) a teacher at a school in London, and the movie is about his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell), a new teacher at the school. As their relationship develops, Paul seems sometimes more concerned about Arsenal's standing in the championship and the increasing likelihood that it will finally win the league. This to the dismay of Sarah, who hates football and is very uptight. Intercalated with these scenes, we see Paul as a young kid in the late 1960s, his relationship with his divorced father, and how he initially become an Arsenal fan.
One problem with the movie is that we never know what Sarah saw in Paul, since she is critical of him from the start (the first time they talk in the movie, she protests the noise his students are making in the classroom next to her own class). Their chemistry is basically zero. Of course, this is not the fault of either Firth or Gemmell (their acting is fine). It's the script that in my view took a wrong approach.