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July 11, 2007
Wimbledon
Wimbledon is written to such a well established blueprint, which is so obviousright from the start, that it all seems a bit pointless. Aging tennis pro Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) is England's only hope to win Wimbledon, but he's not really very good (no real world parallels there then!). He falls in love with American champion Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) and suddenly his game dramatically improves. But what will happen if they break up before the end of the tournament - could he still win?
Lizzie has an overbearing father trying to keep the lovers apart. Peter's parents are rich eccentics, and their characters are firmly rooted in the American view of Englishness. They are having relationship problems of their own, but Peter's tennis starts to bring them closer together. Peter's potential nemesis on court is another film stalwart painted with a very broad brush, and is a bit too much of a brat to believe in.
So it's part romantic comedy, and part underdog does good. It works very well in both these areas, and is never boring. It's the kind of film which you smile all the way through, but never actually laugh. The tennis is actually exciting, and looks very real, and is actually the best thing in the film.
So while it's enjoyable to watch, there isn't really anything outstanding in this film. I hate to knock it because it's really quite pleasant, but I wanted a few really funny scenes, and I wanted a few less unbelievable stereotypes stuck in for the American audiences.
Posted by se71 at July 11, 2007 12:06 PM
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