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Wimbledon
Release Date: September 17,
2004
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Richard Loncraine
Screenwriter: Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, Adam Brooks
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Austin Nichols, Sam Neill,
Jon Favreau, Bernard Hill, James McAvoy, Eleanor Bron, Nikolaj Coster Waldau,
James McAvoy
Genre: Comedy, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language, sexuality and partial nudity)
Official Website:
Wimbledonmovie.com
Plot Summary: Peter Colt (Bettany) is an
unlucky guy, scoring "love" both professionally and personally. Seeded near the
bottom of the world tennis ranks, he manages to score a wild card, allowing him
to play in the prestigious Wimbledon tournament. There, he meets and falls in
love with American tennis star Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst). Fueled by a mixture of
his newfound luck, love and on-court prowess, Peter works his way up the ranks
of the tournament players and actually stands a chance of fulfilling his
lifelong dream of winning the men's singles title--if his luck can just hold
out.
Reviewed by Peter
Veugelaers © 2004
- Almost phony baloney
Wimbledon
is inferior work from the producers who brought us Notting Hill and
Four Weddings and a Funeral. Even the presence of director Richard Loncraine,
who helmed My House in Umbria, cannot shake this from just being a bit of
fluff.
Tennis professionals Lizzie (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Paul Bettany) are
jumping into bed with one another during the Wimbledon championships for no
other reason but to improve their game. Lizzie quips in effect, with no
uncertain aplomb, that love making can enhance a love game. Peter has got a
wildcard to the tournament, whose 120th in rankings means almost
certain failure, and Lizzie is the American dream player, a top seed.
This conventional formulaic romantic comedy is simplistic and unconvincing but
what’s more distancing are the props Wimbledon uses to render its world
as snooty artifice.
Set within the higher echelons of society the glossy photography frames the
affluent décor of hotel rooms and British streets as up market snobbery. Sam
Neil is particularly off putting as Lizzie’s unrelentingly focused father. When
CGI effects replace the tennis balls from the actor’s playing of shots it
informs us that we’re watching performers and not real characters. The climatic
tennis game is atmospherically hard, capturing this world of sport in its
inglorious competitive verve.
The irony is that Wimbledon doesn’t really like this world. The plot
gives us reasons, nevertheless, to doubt the movie’s believability. Paul
Bettany’s Peter is low down in the ranks but chronicles his results and mixed
fortune romance with Lizzie with the ease of Solomon.
Bettany
does not convince as an authenticity wannabe Wimbledon champion and is like
imagining Hugh Grant in the role; it breaks the mould uneasily. The presence of
Tennis stars like John McEnroe and Chris Evert in cameos reminds us of the
difference. Still, Dunst works hard at intensity and being human, and Bettany is
sympathetic, although their chemistry is a mismatch.
There are scenes reflecting downtown and real life away from cold London
milieus – Peter’s parents and brother add a down to earth touch – but it is
merely tokenism in short screen time and their characters barely make a ripple.
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