Sloooooooooooooooooooooooow

Rating: 7/10 (3 April 2005)

Extremely slow. Boring. Dull. It's on as I write this and I can't stand to keep my attention on it. I've paused it to reorganize files on my computer in the other room. I've been surfing the Net and posting on a message board. I've been writing a story.
The lead character is the male lead, not Dunst. He is boring and self-pitying. I don't even want Peter to win because he's too much of a whiner. Unfortunately, it is his self-pitying drone that narrates a too large portion of this film. Narration is considered the tool of the bad script and it lives up to that expectation in this film. Not enough showing and too much telling.
Dunst's character is not someone I enjoy very much - which goes to show what good actress she is, because I usually adore her charisma.
The ancillary characters of Peter's family are annoying and pointless. They just distract from the painfully slow story. Even Jon F. who I usually love is annoying and out of place. I liked Peter's practice partner better than Peter, but he did not have enough screen time. He would have been a better male lead.
If this movie had heart it might fall in line with all of those other underdog sports movies (Cutting Edge, Rocky, Dodgeball (it was better than this!), etc.). But it had no heart. The characters were caricatures. Stiff acting. Meandering direction. Disjointed scenes. The lighting seemed off. Hazy plot. A waste of a cast. Don't bother.
The views of London were the best part of the film, fortunately I LOVE London.