Wimbledon (2004)
“I’m not afraid…I’m old!” – Peter Colt.
Wimbledon (2004)
Directed by: Richard Loncraine
Written by: Adam Brooks, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, James McEvoy
Wimbledon is unapologetically cheesy and has a lazy love story for a rom-com. Yet somehow…I think I’ve watched this at least five times, with the magnetic cast and light-hearted sports sequences making this a fun little package. Think of it as ‘a really bad Notting Hill, with tennis.’
The film follows professional tennis journeyman Peter Colt (Bettany), now ranked 119th in the world, who plans to retire after his 13th and final Wimbledon. However, after a fortuitous run-in with young rising star Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst), Peter’s game is rejuvenated, and he makes a run for the final. Juggling the tournament, his manager (Favreau), his crazy brother (McEvoy), and Lizzy’s overbearing father (Neill), Peter does his best to win both on and off the court.
As I said above, Wimbledon reminds me of a bad Notting Hill. Bettany exudes the bumbling British charm reminiscent of Hugh Grant, and Dunst is the fierce, confident American starlet in the Julia Roberts role. This isn’t an accident, as the film was produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who produced…you guessed it...Notting Hill. As such, the ‘com’ in this rom-com is exceptionally scripted throughout. Dunst and Bettany do their best rallying cute one-liners back and forth, and the funniest scenes in the movie are those featuring McEvoy and Favreau, who are fantastic in their small roles.
The ‘rom’ in this movie…not so impressive. Dunst and Bettany both exude great chemistry, sure, but unlike other romantic comedies, the stakes of them not ending up together seem nonexistent. All of the ‘romantic scenes’ are the pair rattling off some jokes, before quickly going to bed together. There’s no depth, and as such the ‘romantic connection’ doesn’t seem believable. It honestly feels more like a relationship on The Bachelor - they don’t really know each other that well, they’ve only gone on a few dates, and they’re both outrageously independently wealthy. If they split up, I’m sure they’d both get over it. Romantic slander aside, the writers clearly decided to prioritise the comedy of the film over the romance, which is probably for the best.
Set and filmed at Wimbledon, this is also a genuine sports movie, with probably a third of the film dedicated towards both Peter and Lizzy’s journey through the tournament. As neither Bettany nor Dunst have a tennis background, the tennis in the movie is…interesting. It looks passable, with former champ Pat Cash brought onboard to tutor the actors, but there are undoubtedly some dodgy moments. Luckily, Loncraine does his best to distract from the bad tennis by filling the film with sports movie clichés. Training montages, underdogs, a villainous opponent, the controlling parent, the selfish manager – all of these result in a familiar and easy-to-watch sports movie.
Wimbledon doesn’t break any ground as a romance, a comedy, or as a sports movie. However, the combination of all three produces a light-hearted package that you don’t have to think about too hard. Enough laughs to keep you entertained, enough sport to keep you invested, and headlined by two enigmatic lead actors, consider this an ‘easy watch’ when you need one.
Rating: 6.75/10
Casting what-ifs:
Hugh Grant was originally tapped for the Peter Colt role, but turned it down
Reese Witherspoon was considered for Lizzy
Ian Somerholder was considered as the villain, Jake
A number of up and coming but unknown tennis professionals were cast as Lizzy and Peter’s opposition throughout the tournament. A young Maria Sharapova was considered for one of these roles, but was eventually rejected as she “looked too similar to Dunst”