So-So Romantic Comedy in the Tired Hugh Grant tradition

Rating: 5/10 (23 September 2004)

I liked it as I watched it, but as it drew to its ultra-predictable conclusion, I realized just how shallow it was. Movies like this depend on the charm of their two leads, and Paul Bettany holds up his end, but Kirsten Dunst's underwritten, underperformed character as little more than "the girl" prevents the movie from achieving romantic magic. In fact, Kirsten Dunst is losing it for me.
Dunst was a wet blanket in Spider-Man 2, an ever-whiny Mary Jane who could not convincingly perform the tiny part in Broadway's Importance of Being Earnest revival. Here, there doesn't appear to be a soul to her free-spirit tennis pro. Dunst's eyes just look blank, like she's going through the motions to collect a paycheck.
The plot really centers around Bettany's character. He's a 30-something British tennis pro whose ranking has slipped to 118th in the world. He's decided to retire as a time when no one really notices, and he'll make Wimbledon his last tournament. While there, he starts to fall for a young American rising star.
We know at the beginning of every match who's going to win. We know when Bettany loses the girl, he's going to get her back. This is from the production company who brought us Love Actually, and this movie could've been the tenth subplot cut out of that movie. I heard a lot of the older people commenting on what a "cute" movie it was, but there's really nothing substantial here, nice as it is to see Bettany in a romantic leading-man role. Rated PG-13 for language and sexual situations.