harmless piece of romantic fluff

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2005)

"Wimbledon" is a charming love-conquers-all romantic comedy set in the highly competitive world of professional tennis.
Peter Colt is an aging player who has slipped to 119 in the world rankings; it is for this reason that he plans to hang up his racket after what he believes will be his swan song appearance at Wimbledon. What he isn't counting on is that he will meet and fall in love with a beautiful and sexy up-and-coming player named Lizzie Bradbury, a turn of events which seems to be having a very positive effect on his game. Soon, he's racking up surprise, come-from-behind wins in the tournament, becoming a major focus of attention for appreciative fans all over Great Britain. The problem is that, as Peter's game improves as a result of the romance, Lizzie's seems to be getting worse, a fact which threatens to put a serious strain on the young couple's burgeoning relationship.
Although the story itself is rather innocuous and silly, Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst do achieve a genuine rapport on screen. It's also nice to have a protagonist in a romantic comedy who is not exactly in his physical prime and who is facing some of the rigors of advancing age (he's all of 30, practically his dotage when it comes to professional tennis!). Moreover, the setting is novel and there is just enough of that brittle British humor in the screenplay to keep the film from feeling puerile and canned. It's true that Lizzie seems to be an entirely different person off the court than she is on, but that is just one of those inconsistencies we tend to expect from a movie in which credibility isn't necessarily a prime factor in determining our overall enjoyment of it. And director Richard Loncraine manages to generate some genuine suspense in the final showdown between Peter and the odds-on favorite he isn't expected to beat.
"Wimbledon" is pure Cinderella romantic fantasy crossed with a David and Goliath, underdog-takes-on-the-reigning-champ sports story. If either of those genres appeals to you - or, even better, if both do - you should have a fun time at "Wimbledon."