Nothing unique here...same old sports and love story...just in a tennis setting

Rating: 7/10 (26 October 2013)

Nope, nothing special here, other than that the story (love conquers all) is in a tennis setting. That's not to say that it isn't a pleasant film and mostly done rather well.
Paul Bettany as the male love/tennis interest was "okay", although not to intriguing that I'll be buying many movie tickets just to see him. But, he was reasonably convincing as a tennis pro. Kirsten Dunst was "okay" as the female love/tennis lead...but she's been more interesting in other films. James McAvoy...well, I just don't get the attraction. Nice to see Bernard Hill as Bettany's father; very convincing. Eleanor Bron was "okay" as the mother. Sam Neill gets a little screen time as Dunst's father.
The story itself...well, it works as a love story, but I'm not totally convinced it works as a tennis story. I'm not much of a tennis fan, though I may watch a match or two on occasion. But is it likely someone who is standing at a ranking of 119 will really win a Wimbledon? This is a "good" film, and it meets one of my standards for a sports film -- you don't have to love tennis to enjoy the movie. But there's just something missing. I wonder if there is really much screen chemistry between Dunst and Bettany.
I won't recommend it or dis-recommend it. It's "okay".