Last night Marcia and I watched the movie “Wimbledon” starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst. For those of you that know us, you are probably surprised that we didn’t see this already, and in the theaters. But when it was out, I was in a cast recovering from my torn Achilles that I suffered after failing in my attempt to imitate Roger Federer.
The movie as a whole, for a tennis fan, was entertaining. I don’t mind romantic comedies, so that helps. And of course it doesn’t hurt when I don’t mind the leading lady in the movie, and Kirsten Dunst sure falls into that category. But with some of the intensity that they get into Bettany’s character (Peter Colt, a one time promising star on the tennis scene that never quite lived up to his potential) it is just more then a romantic comedy.
One problem with what was happening between the characters was the time that Dunst’s character (Lizzy Bradbury, American tennis star on the rise playing in her first Wimbledon) gets upset at Colt. It was understandable that she might be a bit upset, but she seemed way too PO’d.
So how was the tennis end of the movie? A good question since I just ranted the post before about the lack of authenticity in sports movies. The happenings on the court were realistic. And the way they played looked good, too. Especially Bettany. His ground strokes (especially his forehand) and his serve looked like he really plays and can play well. Dunst’s serve didn’t look too strong, but then again (not being chauvinistic) even some of the top ranked women in the world don’t have the best form with their serves.
There was one problem with where things were taking place though. Colt and Bradbury both played their semi-final matches on one of the back courts. Now that just wouldn’t happen. All the semi-final matches at Wimbledon would take place on Centre Court, or at least Court 1 if their were rain delays. But I can understand that Wimbledon might have only given the director so much time to use Centre Court for filming.
So again, for a tennis fan, and someone that doesn’t mind romantic comedies, it was an entertaining and worthwhile rental.
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