One bad performance lets down otherwise good movie

Rating: 8/10 (11 February 2005)

Kirsten Dunst is not a tennis player. She does not look or play like one, and most important she didn't act like one.
Sports movies ride and fall on the credibility of the sports reenactments. Why? Because most of the people who will see the film are going to be fans of the sport. Its tough, but its true.
Paul Bettany is not a tennis player, but he plays one well on the big screen.
There is one other problem, there is no real chemistry between Dunst and Bettany. It is hard to watch a romantic comedy when the romance is somewhat unbelievable. What is interesting is that the relationship starts as one predicated purely on lust. I believed that.
Bettany saves this film. He is self-deprecating, charming and funny. I believed his character - tired, no self-confidence, war-weary. Sam Neill, great as always - he is Australian, playing an American, in Britain. Odd, but vaguely believable.
What is interesting about this movie is that it reminds that in sports anything is possible - Greece winning the European championships, Boston winning the World Series, Seabiscuit beating War Admiral.
At its heart, this movie succeeds in this tradition admirably. If only they had recast Kirsten Dunst.