Interesting ... but not entirely convincing

Rating: 7/10 (5 October 2004)

Filmed largely around the 2003 Wimbledon tennis championships, the story takes us into the lives of two of the contestants whose paths converge during the two-week event. Kirsten Dunst plays the somewhat brash American top-line women's singles player, and Paul Bettany the older British competitor who was once ranked as high as world number 11, but has sunk to 119 currently. The liaison has a different effect on the progress each of them experience through the tournament, but the end result is not all that surprising to the viewer. Some of the logistics of Wimbledon we see are interesting, but as one who met their partner on the tennis court it seems to me the chemistry between the two main players is just not quite there. I honestly found the little asides by some of the extras to be more interesting than Dunst and Bettany most of the time. These included the brief appearances by John McEnroe as commentator, the wily old locker room porter, and the admiring young ballboy. In summary, a pleasant enough romantic comedy in an unusual setting, which will adequately fill the gap if you are looking for something light. A rating of marginally less than 7 out of 10 seems appropriate.