Wimbledon (2004)

Director:

Richard Loncraine

Writers (WGA):

Adam Brooks (written by) and
Jennifer Flackett (written by) ...

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

She's the golden girl. He's the longshot. It's a match made in...

Plot:

A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon.

Plot Keywords:

Shower Scene | Male Bonding | Male Female Relationship | Bare Butt | Undressing Scene

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kirsten Dunst	...	Lizzie Bradbury
Paul Bettany	...	Peter Colt
Kyle Hyde	...	Monte Carlo Opponent
Robert Lindsay	...	Ian Frazier
Celia Imrie	...	Mrs. Kenwood
Penny Ryder	...	Mrs. Littlejohn
Annabel Leventon	...	Mrs. Rossdale
Amanda Walker	...	Country Club Tennis Lady
James McAvoy	...	Carl Colt
Bernard Hill	...	Edward Colt
Eleanor Bron	...	Augusta Colt
Marina Morgan	...	Hotel Receptionist
Barry Jackson	...	Danny Oldham
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Dieter Prohl
Sam Neill	...	Dennis Bradbury

Also Known As:

Plus belle victoire, La (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sexuality and partial nudity.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40763) | South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA (DVD rating) | Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, UK

Company:

Inside Track Films

Trivia:

Kirsten Dunst underwent serious physical training to prepare for this role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When at Peter's parent’s house, in Brighton, his father is in the garden listening to the radio. At one point the radio announcer says 'You're listening to BBC London 94.9'. It would be impossible to receive BBC London Radio in Brighton unless on a Digital Radio. The radio depicted in the scene is obviously an analogue device.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Peter Colt: [voiceover] We all start off in life with a dream, don't we? For a tennis player, it's being in the final of a Grand Slam, Centre Court, a high lob... a smash. Game, set and match. You're a champion. You're number one. But for most tennis players, that's all it ever is: a dream...

Movie Connections:

References "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986)

Soundtrack:

This Year's Love

Hits the spot

Peter Colt (Paul Bettany) was once ranked 11th in the tennis world back in the 90's. Now with the prime of his life behind him, ranked number 119, Peter decides to throw in the towel and play his last ever Wimbledon tournament before gracefully bowing out of the gentleman's sport for good and going to work at a tennis club tending to clucky old ladies. All he wants is to go out in style, keep his dignity and try not to cock up too badly. That is, until he meets American tennis sweet-heart Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst). Lizzie is the tennis world's new golden girl, and looks to have Wimbledon in the bag... that is until Peter proves a costly distraction. They instantly take a liking to one another, and their relationship moves pretty quickly into the bedroom. Her side-tracked mind becomes apparent to her ambitious father (Sam Neill) who can feel his daughter's priorities taking a turn. Meanwhile, Lizzie is improving Peter's game by acting as his 'lucky charm'. Now Peter has to ask himself.... can the long-shot win the tournament?

'Working Title Films' are the same lot who brought us "four weddings & a funeral" and "bridget jones's diary" and while they stick to pretty much the same formula with Wimledon, it's a formula that works and produces a satisfying romantic comedy. Bumbling, charming Brit meets American hot-shot. Boy gets girl. Boy loses Girl.... and all the rest.... While this is nothing new essentially, it is still a very great movie.

Paul Bettany is a gorgeous leading man, pulling out all the charms and making himself impossible not to like. Be sure to keep an eye out for Bettany, who is more used to taking the back-seat supporting role in films (A knights tale, a beautiful mind etc...) but after Wimbledon, he has proven himself a more than capable and lovable leading-man.

Kirsten delivers a some-what aggressive performance as Lizzie. Sure she's a head-strong American, but couldn't Dunst have made her a likable head-strong American? It's not a bad performance, just a little 'off' at times, not quite hitting the mark she should have aimed for in this romantic comedy.

Jon Favreau plays Peter's manager, a typically sleazy businessman... but he does it so well, and with such delivery that he's also impossible not to like. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau plays Peter's German friend. It's a small role, but my God, this guy is a hunk and a half. Sam Neill is pretty forgettable, playing a fairly wooden one-dimensional character. The other noticeable performance comes from unknown James McAvoy who plays Peter's annoying brother, Carl. Great comedic timing and genuinely likable.

Wimbledon is filled with quick wit, dry English humor, fantastic (although computer-generated) tennis matches and a stand-out leading man. What's not to like? It's a great film for a good laugh and is a definite pleaser. Game-set-match!