Hit this one, and I'll sleep with you (Wimbledon (DVD))

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Wimbledon (DVD)
Date:	28/10/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A typical love story, Excellent back drop using Wimbledon 2003, Some funny moments

Disadvantages: Far too predictabvle, Perhaps the wrong leads, The ending as far too unrealistic

This week seen me watching a film that ordinarily wouldn't be my kind of film. The only way I could think to describe it would be chick flick and add to that the fact its about a sport I don't really watch the question must be why? Well the answer to that question is quite simple. The film stars Kirsten Dunst and that for me was reason enough to subject myself to sitting and watching Wimbledon for an hour and a half. It's not normally my type of film but I even found myself watching Bring It On due to the presence of Ms Dunst. I didn't have any expectations for the film, probably a good thing, so sat down to watch it with an open mind.

A once famous Tennis player things have gone from bad to worse for Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) who has fallen down the rankings to 117. In fact things are so bad for Peter this Wimbledon tournament is going to be his last. On the other hand there is Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), one of the hottest young tennis players to come from America in years. The Gulf between the two couldn't be any different but after Peter is accidentally sent into Lizzie's hotel room there is only one way you can see the film going.

The plot is all worked around the famous Wimbledon tournament and as the tournament progresses the relationship between Lizzie and Peter develops. Of course in typical film by numbers style her Dad wants her to concentrate on her game and finds Peter to be a distraction. At the same time there is the ex boyfriend, the men's No. 1 player and favourite for the tournament. In an amazing coincidence the closer Peter and Lizzie get the better his game becomes and hers rapidly starts to go down hill. The rest of the film is full of love story cliques that you'll see coming a mile away.

It's quite a simple idea for a story and despite an alternative type of setting it's been done so many times before. It is a typical love story and as such it didn't really hold my interest for the entire hour and a half. It's ideal for anyone who likes films like Love Actually and Bridgett Jones etc. For me though it was mildly enjoyable but I doubt it'll be a film I'll be rushing to watch again. There is a bit of comedy mixed into the love story but nothing that really separates it from a lot of similar romance films.

It's the first film I've heard of by director Richard Loncraine who directed an episode of Band Of Brothers as his most notable effort to date. He does exactly what is expected of him, making a regular love story look like a regular love story. I felt his real accomplishment was the tennis part of the film. I'm not a huge fan of the game, although have been watching more of it recently, but the Tennis scenes were excellent. He uses a number of different effects and camera angels to add a bit of suspense, rather than simply hitting the ball back and forward.

Despite the rather simplistic script, the 2003 Wimbledon tournament provides an excellent back drop to the movie. It adds a sense of realism to the movie and this makes it slightly more believable than it otherwise would have appeared. With a script writing team that boasts Bridgett Jones Edge Of Reason as one of its successes it certainly wasn't going to be a script that would appeal to me and as predicted before seeing it, it certainly didn't. The soundtrack was quite average and never really excelled to a point where it was even noticeable, but it played its part in the appropriate places, much like every other aspect of the film.

The cast was as you would expect from this type of movie. The alleged new British heartthrob Paul Bettany, opposite the hot American girl Dunst with the young American unknown heartthrob type lingering in the background. As with most love stories the world is full of beautiful people, half of which struggle to actually act. I wasn't convinced with Bettany and thought he struggled to be convincing as a pathetic tennis player at the start. My only encounter with him before was in a Knights Tale and again he didn't impress. He is allegedly a great British acting talent but personally I would have rated his performance as average. I really felt he struggled to confine a smug, cocky exterior whilst he was trying to play a man down on his luck.

Even Dunst didn't impress me as much as usual. Her character seemed to be a slight struggle to portray as she didn't seem to be quite nasty enough for the role. I felt parts where she was meant to be upset and angry she really didn't seem to be comfortable in her portrayal. The saving grace was the chemistry between the two and at times it did feel like the right casting choices had been made. The best performance of all came from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who played Colt's best friend and added a bit of humour to the film and actually helped to hold my interest slightly, whilst I wasn't focussed on Kirsten that is.

Overall it is a typical love Story meets sport. It combines all the cliques and predictable events you would expect from this type of film. My one complaint was the totally unrealistic ending, anyone whose seen it will know what I mean, like that's going to happen. For the rest of you I'm sure you'll understand when you've seen the film but I don't want to spoil it for you. It is a film I'd recommend seeing but only via rental as I'm sure it'll now be confined to collecting dust on a shelf for a long time to come. If you like Sport based films, or more importantly a lot of slushy romance then this is the film for you.

Summary: A love and tennis story