Wimbledon | Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany | "Hit this one and I'll sleep with you"

Wimbledon | Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany | Match Point.

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Wimbledon

	Wimbledon Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany Universal Studios, 2004 average customer review:based on 87 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

"Hit this one and I'll sleep with you"

I play tennis frequently and like to watch it on TV, and my wife likes romantic comedies, so this movie was a very good blend for our tastes. On top of that, I really enjoyed the film and found it an above average comedy, since it delivers great laughs in an unexplored topic with good actors.

Everything starts with Peter Colt (Bettany) playing in one of the tournaments that serve as a preparation for Wimbledon. He is in the declining stage of his career, since he is thirty-one and lately he has been consistently crushed by up and coming young players. This explains his current ranking, 119th in the world, which has dropped considerable from his best at 11th. In most people's mind he has another point against him, he is a rich kid, and it is common belief that you need to be really hungry to be a top player and succeed.

Wimbledon looks like Peter's last chance to achieve his dream (same as every pro player in the world has), and the experience starts better than he expected, right from the moment he arrives at his hotel. A mix-up with the room assignments ends up with him going into the room of Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst), an American star expected to win the female singles. After seeing her in the shower, Peter's day clearly improves. When later they start a relationship, the plot evolves around whether it is possible for them to have this and still be focused on the tournament or not.

Having Pat Cash as an advisor certainly helped to make the tennis aspects more believable, for example we get to see how superstitious tennis players are. When Peter starts winning he does not want to change to a better hotel room, similar to what Gustavo Kuerten did when he was an unknown player and ended up winning Roland Garros. Some other aspects of the movie also shown similarities with the real world of pro tennis, like Lizzie's relationship with her controlling father, bringing to mind the cases of many famous females players in the tour.

The movie is an above average comedy because the subject matter is original and it has the power of keeping us interested throughout the almost two hours it runs for. Dunst and Bettany are very good in their roles, and I was surprised when I found out that none of them had played tennis before. Even though in the scenes showing games the ball was not actually directed by the hitting of the actors, but rather through CGI, they had to mimic the strokes, and for beginners these were pretty good (Pat Cash's influence again). For many couples out there in which the guy does not really like romantic comedies, and the gal does not like sports, this may be a perfect compromise.

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Match Point.

Wimbledon is a great love story between an up and coming young tennis star and a has been once great tennis star. Kristen Dunst did a great roll portraying the young tennis star who has a reputation on and off the court. Her dad strives her to be great and will do anything to get her to the top. Until she meets Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) who has nothing to lose but his heart. What starts off as a one night thing turns into something that can last a life time. But Lizzie ( Kirsten Dunst) has to decided whats more important winning at Wimbledon or winning at love. This movie has great scenery and the acting was wonderful. The whole movie was great execept the last 30 mins. They kind of drag on as Peter plays his last game. I think the end could have been a little better but just the same the movie was good through and through. I would highly recommed this movie. Even if you don't love tennis this movie will make you want to pick up a racket and start playing.

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Above average, but a bit of a misfire- 3.5

When I saw the previews, I groaned. Here was another film with Kirsten Dunst as the star, getting all the attention, while everyone else falls at her feet. But this movie is really about Paul Bettany and his not so quiet end to his tennis career at the biggest stage pro tennis has- Wimbledon. Bettany plays Paul, an aging pro who has slipped from the top 15 of the rankings (I was eleventh!) to 119, barely enough to get a wildcard entry into his last tournament. After a quick defeat, he will go be the tennis pro at a local club.

Upon arriving, he is given the key to a gorgeous suite, which he thinks is odd. When he enters the room, he sees Dunst in the shower and quickly leaves. But of course, they will meet again, and even have a fling which becomes love. He seems bolstered by the relationship, but she seems to lose focus on her game.

Oh, that's right. She is a tennis player too. I forgot to mention this at the beginning, because frankly, I can't figure out what the point of having her be a pro tennis player was. She has about 2 scenes where she actually is playing, and while I am no tennis expert, I can tell you without doubt that she has zero game. However, she is not only a pro, she is an American phenom who is appearing in her first Wimbledon. But the movie smartly avoids seeing her on the court much, because she is terrible at tennis. Paul Bettany is better, and looks more like he can play, which is why he gets the lion's share of time on the courts.

Is the ending predictable? Of course. It goes without saying that the ending will be happy on both fronts. It is cute, and watchable, and in the end, it has some charm. I do want to mention, however, that I don't really like the direction PG-13 movies are heading these days. This one has that rating, yet it features the following: A full body silhouette of Dunst in the shower, well lit, several shots of Bettany's behind, naked, and an affair which starts about 10 minutes after the main characters have introduced themselves to each other. They are seen in bed, obviously naked, more than once, and I just can't see the point in showing that to a 13 year old. The movie was just as good without any of that, so why is it there? Just for money I guess, why else?

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