Sweet and witty

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2005)

** SPOILER ALERT **
Recap: Peter Colt (Bettany), former tennis star, is making his final appearance on the tour in the tournament of Wimbledon. His career of late has been dismal and he figures he will be sent home quickly and without anyone noticing. At the other end of the career ladder is Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst) a young shooting star aiming at the championship. The two meet when Colt is given the wrong room, and a sort of relationship starts to evolve. Even as the two are at different points in their lives, Colt with a dysfunctional family looking for what to do after his career and Bradbury with her father (Neill) watching her every step. As if hit by a magic wand, Colt puts his game together and starts to advance through the tournament. Bradbury, and especially her father is concerned however that their relationship might distract her.
Comment: A very sweet and witty romantic comedy with stellar performances from the cast. Especially Bettany and Dunst do great work. I really liked Bettany's character Colt's introspective monologues and his conversations with tennis friend Prohl, played by Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau. The parts with either them talking or Colt and Bradbury developing their relationship are simply great. But there is tennis as well, and contrary to what I expected, the scenes with the play are fast-paced and full of nice special-effects, due to good editing and special effects, not at all slow and boring as I feared they would be. The one minor flaw is that the plot is too predictable and full of clichés, but fortunately it does not taint the movie otherwise. In conclusion a fun and romantic, yes it is both, there are both laughs and loves, good romantic scenes. Highly recommended!
9/10