Wimbledon DVD Review:

Wimbledon

When you stop and think about it, it really is remarkable how similar love and tennis are. The two players lob playful shots back and forth, examining
each other’s form and method, until the perfect time, when one of the players goes in for the kill. Not a perfect metaphor but it works well enough in the romantic comedy Wimbledon, from the makers of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill. While Wimbledon isn’t a perfect film, like the metaphor, stars Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany have enough charm and charisma to make it nearly impossible for me to dislike it despite the flaws.

The film begins with fantastic opening credits, showing the theme and subject of the film before even showing a single shot of the actors. Added
last minute, the titles along with a great score set the mood better than most films take the time to do, despite the fact that they were one of the
last things to be created.

Peter Colt (Bettany) is a quickly fading tennis star, who was once ranked eleventh in the world, but now falls somewhere in the hundreds. Realizing that he may be past his prime, Colt has decided to retire his racket after playing at one last Wimbledon, and become a tennis pro at a country club. After accidentally meeting young and upcoming talent Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst), Colt’s game suddenly begins to improve and he begins to win. The
dilemma comes when Lizzie’s game begins to grow worse as their relationship grows. Add a father coach who controls her daughter’s game and life and the plot is as complete as it will get.

Dunst is wonderful as always as the young and talented tennis player with a reputation for losing her temper on the court. She has such a passion in her acting that it is easily believable to see her as a passionate tennis player. Dunst has brought many films up a level, and I expect that some time in the near future she will find herself attached to some fantastic scripts and obtain some well-deserved acclaim.

Although much of the tennis was done with special effects there was a great deal of training to be done for the actors to look as though they could play
tennis. Often we go to the movies and never realize how much work goes into making a film, which is a compliment to the actors for pulling it off.

As much as I enjoyed the film, it must be noted that the sports/romantic comedy film has been done many times before, and many better. I suppose the tennis aspect is slightly original, while Love and Basketball and Jerry Maguire dealt with different sports, Wimbledon still isn’t entirely original and not all of the jokes are all that funny. The romance is also nothing more than a purely physical relationship that develops into something more. Somehow it works enough that even though I’m aware of its mediocrity, I still can’t help but kind of like it.

The DVD is really quite fantastic, with more special features than most special edition DVDs have these days. The highlight is the insightful and entertaining commentary by director Richard Loncraine and Paul Bettany. The greatest part about the commentary is the blunt honesty about portions of
the film that the actor and director dislike. They also seem to have an easy time keeping conversation, which is humorous at times.

There are also a number of featurettes about Wimbledon, the training the actors had to endure, and just about tennis itself. The one catch about the special features is that they were created more for tennis fans than for fans of the film itself.

A great DVD for fans of the film and good film for fans of romantic comedies or tennis, Wimbledon is one of the better-constructed DVD packages to be put together in a while, especially considering it isn’t even a special edition. I can’t say that there is much more they could put on a special edition to
make me want to upgrade.

Ryan Izay

Once ranked 11th in the world, Peter Colt (Bettany) is about to hit thirty-two years old and he has plummeted to 119th. Facing the prospect of becoming a tennis-pro at a health club, Peter decides that this is his last Wimbledon championship, a fact that the press don’t seem too bothered about. Thinking he will go out in the first round, Peter’s passion for the game returns when he meets up and coming American tennis star Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst) and he starts winning.

Mixing romantic comedy and sports could be a real crowd-pleaser but can Wimbledon serve up both successfully or will it double-fault.

As a romantic comedy, the movie has all the key players on the court and it delivers an ace in the form of Paul Bettany. Already an accomplished actor with a varied career, he is one of the few British stars to have avoided the trappings of the Rom-Com. In a role that would have been more associated with the likes of Hugh Grant or Colin Firth, Bettany does everything right and makes the character of Peter Colt instantly likeable. While the character does come from a slightly more privileged background, Bettany succeeds in making him an everyman, someone everyone can connect with and would want to socialise with. In essence he is the typical British underdog that we all root for and Bettany brings this essence to the screen extremely well.

Kirsten Dunst serves a few aces also, but there is the odd double fault. As an actress, there is no denying her talent and she is no stranger to the genre but the sometimes her character just comes across as unlikeable. This trait of the character, her bitchy, killer instinct on the court is completely opposite to what we see when she is with Bettany. While this was probably intentional, a misunderstood and driven star that just needs to be loved, the change is just too severe to allow you to connect to the character.

The supporting cast is good however. Bernard Hill is as excellent as ever as Peter’s father, as is Eleanor Bron as Peter’s mother. James McAvoy provides many of the laughs as Peter’s brother Carl. John McEnroe and Chris Evert bring some realism to the TV coverage on the movie but both of them shouldn’t give up their day jobs for acting.

The tennis itself is also quite good. You can tell that the ball is computer generated most of the time however, but this doesn’t take anything away from the action. Actually filming the movie at Wimbledon also works very well but there are a few inaccuracies that tennis fans will instantly pick up on, like the fact that they play the semi-finals on No.2 Court. The final is on Centre Court however, making the finale all that more exciting.

Wimbledon tries to play like a champion but ends up been like all British tennis players, a big hype but can’t actually win. While the movie is enjoyable enough, it doesn’t really stray far enough away from the predictable trappings of a sports movie. More of a second serve than an Ace.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is an excellent transfer. The picture quality captures the colour of the famous Lawn Tennis Club superbly and the sound engulfs you, taking you into centre court.

BONUS FEATURES

Feature Commentary with Director Richard Loncraine and Paul Bettany
This chatty and informative track from the man at the helm and his star is good fun to listen to. They outline how they wanted to distance themselves from the ‘Richard Curtis’ mould and make their own sports/rom-com. Paul Bettany reveals the many injuries he sustained during tennis training and filming and they talk about working with the cast. The pair has a great affinity for the film and each other, making this a commentary track that is very easy to listen to and enjoy.

Welcome to the Club (3.01 mins)

Director Richard Loncraine, AELTCC chairman Tim Philips and stars Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Austin Nichols, Sam Neill and Mary Carillo take you behind the scenes of filming at Wimbledon itself.

Ball Control (4.48 mins)

Director Richard Loncraine, visual effects supervisor Richard Stammers and visual effect producer Stefan Drury show you the different techniques used to make the tennis match look real. We get to see how they used CG tennis balls, time slice photography and motion control camera to make Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst into tennis pros.

Coaching a Rising Star (2.52 mins)

Director Richard Loncraine, tennis advisor Pat Cash, tennis pro Murphy Jensen and stars Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst, Chris Evert and John McEnroe talk about making the tennis look real. With six months of training, five days a week Pat Cash and Paul Bettany reveal what they went through to make the stars look like tennis pros and not actors with a racket.

Wimbledon – An Inside Look (9.45 mins)

Director Richard Loncraine, producer Eric Fellner, writer Adam Brooks, tennis advisor Pat Cash, tennis pro Murphy Jensen and stars Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Chris Evert and John McEnroe take you behind the scenes of the filming of ‘Wimbledon’. The cast and crew talk about the story, characters, cameos, the tennis and what is was like filming at the most famous tennis venue in the world.

Trailers
Previews of ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’, ‘The Terminal’, ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’ and ‘Vanity Fair’

OVERALL

Universal and Working Title have not done a bad job with the DVD for ‘Wimbledon’. The relative shortness of the featurettes is compensated for by a really good commentary track for the director and his star. Fans of the film will be happy with the release and it is a good rent for everyone else.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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