Considering that it's solely comprised of the element that fuels many a movie -- namely one person battling another in hopes of defeating them -- it's surprising that there have been so few tennis-based movies. Sure, you see lots of characters playing the sport in all sorts of films, but it's rare to see one that's actually about the professional activity.
With its one-word descriptive title, "Wimbledon" hopes to be the first serve in a reversal of that trend. A romantic dramedy, the picture comes from part of the producing team responsible for the likes of hits such as "Bridget Jones's Diary," "Notting Hill" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral."
Accordingly, it shares with them the same sort of British filmmaking style, consisting of a pleasantly diverting mix of comedy and drama populated with an eclectic assortment of supporting characters designed to be comic relief and/or assistants in helping the protagonist in his soul searching bit.
Surprisingly, the film doesn't star Hugh Grant (despite him seeming like a natural tennis player -- perhaps he'd come off as too casual rather than competitive). Instead, it has up and coming star Paul Bettany ("Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "A Beautiful Mind") who acquits himself rather well in the role. He plays the seasoned tennis pro who's about to call it quits when a fling with a younger player boosts both his game and libido.
Probably to no one's surprise, love -- both romantic and tennis based -- dominates the offering and director Richard Loncraine ("Richard III," "Bellman and True") -- who works from a script by Adam Brooks ("Practical Magic," "Beloved") and Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin ("Madeline") -- makes sure to follow the formula to a T. Accordingly, fans of this sort of offering will probably appreciate its serve and follow-thru. Those who don't, though, may not like the volley between comedy and drama or the all too predictable final match, both on and off the court.
It's certainly no ace, but then again it doesn't double-fault either. That's thanks to likable performances, decent tennis recreations and an overall filmmaking approach that, for the most part, is competent enough to score points with yours truly.
That said, there are a number of glaring problems. Beyond the overriding predictable nature, some of the dialogue is corny, too on the nose or flat. For a film where the analogy is volleying back and forth, the banter between Bettany and Kirsten Dunst's ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the "Spider-Man" films) characters isn't as sharp, witty or fun as one might expect (or at least hope), although it does have its moments.
While I didn't mind the voice-over narration when it represented the thoughts inside Peter's head during the matches, the rest of that material felt like a cheap and easy way out of delivering exposition and the like. And don't get me started on the color commentary by John McEnroe and Chris Everet that's so contrived and obvious that it feels like they're reading from the "Announcing a tennis match for dummies" handbook.
Some of the supporting characters feel like nothing more than colorful decorations and/or filler, such as an entire subplot featuring Bernard Hill ("Gothika," the "Lord of the Rings" films) and Eleanor Bron ("Iris," "The House of Mirth") as Peter's bickering parents who -- shock of all shocks -- find common ground over their son's tennis matches.
James McAvoy ("Bright Young Things," "Regeneration") appears in a bunch of comic asides playing the guy who always bets against his brother, while Austin Nichols ("The Day After Tomorrow," "The Durango Kids") is one-dimensional as the obligatory villain/tennis opponent. Sam Neill ("The Dish," the "Jurassic Park" films) is okay as the over-protective tennis father who sees love as a bad distraction for his daughter and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ("Black Hawk Down," "Enigma") is good as the pro's training partner.
The film, however, is all about the two main characters and Bettany and Dunst make for a likable pairing with decent chemistry between them. Unfortunately, the script makes her too wishy-washy, a characteristic that leaves her feeling less credible and/or appealing than she should be.
Both are fine on the tennis court, but it's Bettany who really looks and feels the part (with computer-generated tennis balls no doubt helping his game). Loncraine infuses the matches with all sorts of unexpected visual panache (slow-mo, spin around, zoom in and many other types of shots and camera work), most of which is unnecessary but does keep things lively visually from a visual standpoint.
With a little more training and changes in its game play, the film could have been so much better. Yet, for its many faults, "Wimbledon" is entertaining and divertingly enjoyable enough to rate as a 5 out of 10.
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