Wimbledon

Plot Summary

Ranked only 119th in the world, British tennis player, Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) is coming to the end of his career. He never quite fulfilled his potential and always fell short of the big time. The prestigious Wimbledon tournament is to be his last, and he plans to take up the position of tennis coach at an exclusive country club.

As the two week tournament starts Peter meets Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) an American tennis star. The pair start seeing each other and Peter finds a new energy and enthusiasm on the tennis court. He actually starts winning games! Can the budding relationship survive the pressures of the tournament and can they do their best in the tournament with the off court distractions...

Review

This movie is from the same makers of Love Actually and Bridget Jones's Diary, and there are some obvious similarities between them. Wimbledon, however, is a bit of a lightweight in comparison and simply isn't as good. There isn't really much to the story and besides the two central characters and the story of their romance, there are no other characters that make any impact. There is also quite a few music pieces to fill in the gaps but maybe that is to be expected of most romantic comedies. The success of the movie really rests on the shoulders of Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany and, in fairness, they do a good job of adding the charm and humour needed. Both characters are quite likeable and as sporting underdog it is easy to cheer on Peter Colt as he battles, on the tennis court, against the young rising stars.

With regard to the humour it is very funny in parts but it is the two main characters that have most of the jokes and funny situations. There are plenty of other characters that, if developed further, could have brought more humour to the movie. Colts' parents and younger brother are quite eccentric but I thought that these characters were underused.

If tennis isn't your thing don't worry as there isn't too much time spent on each game. The balance between, on-court and off-court, is spot on.  There is some nice camera work during the tennis games to keep things interesting. The games, which were filmed at Wimbledon, look very authentic and there is even an appearance from former tennis stars, John McEnroe and Chris Evert, as tennis pundits. 

Bottom Line: Not much of a story but there's enough charm and humour to entertain. If you enjoy Wimbledon you might also enjoy:  Love Actually,  Bridget Jones's Diary,  Two Weeks Notice,  About A Boy.

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2004.

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS:  KIRSTEN DUNST:  Spiderman,  Spiderman 2, Mona Lisa Smile,  Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.  PAUL BETTANY:  A Beautiful Mind,  A Knight's Tale,  Master and Commander.  SAM NEILL:  Jurassic Park III.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Certificate: 12's

Director: Richard Loncraine

~ Main Cast ~

Kirsten Dunst

Paul Bettany

Sam Neill

RATING

WORTH A WATCH