Typical romantic comedy, but a surprisingly successful sports drama.

Rating: 7/10 (22 July 2005)

It was what I expected in a lot of ways. Kinda' hokey, kinda' corny, but entertaining. A run-of-the mill romantic comedy with few surprises on that end. The actors did a good job keeping it interesting and fun. Dunst played the strength or her character well, but never seemed to take the heavier scenes seriously enough. Paul Bettany was solid, but in a lot of scenes, he overplayed the stereotypical Hugh Grant British stammering and awkwardness. It should be noted that this is from the same team that made Notting Hill.
I must give the movie a LOT of credit for transferring the game to the screen rather well. Wimbledon did an outstanding job at depicting the psychological game within the game. At some points I actually felt the tingling in my legs that I remembered from the starting blocks in my first track meet. Intense. The visual effects were also well done. In some ways it played like The Matrix only instead of the war against the machines it's Wimbledon and instead of "the one" it's some British guy.
In spite of its genre-specific clichés, it was original enough for me to enjoy. I gave it a 6 for being an enjoyable movie, and an extra point for its visual effects and dramatic power. I recommend it to the romantic comedy fans and mild sports fans.