Wimbledon

Each year, there are a few films or TV programmes that I repeatedly and often quite religiously go back to, depending on the season or time of year. Though I don't always follow the Wimbledon tournament (though this year I have watched a couple of matches) I do often insist on watching the 2004 film of the same name. To me, it still has a certain appeal, and resonates with me in a resilent, neo-classic sense. Though not quite Four Weddings or Notting Hill, in terms of a truly timeless British romcom, I feel it is up there. So, a quick word then on Wimbledon...

I think it is important to consider above all else when watching Wimbledon, that it is in essence a nice film. And that is not a bad thing. Often modern films of various genres have to have some sort of barrage of plot twists, conflicts, and problems to attempt to peak audience's interest. Not here. In the case of Wimbledon - the tournament itself is in prime focus as quite a an element or backdrop (depending upon how much of a tennis lover you are) but we simply have a man who loses his way, finds his way, falls in love and *SPOILER ALERT* wins Wimbledon.

That's it; it's a nice film; a nice watch. And there is nothing to detract from the pure yet very simple lght-hearted, funny and appealing joy that watching the film play out brings.

Though I have long since been a fan of Paul Bettany (watch him as Chaucer in A Knight's Tale - pure genius!) this is the first time I saw him in a leading man role as thirty something disillusioned tennis player Peter Colt. Though his grip on leading man status was often as breezy as the rest of the film, Bettany's performance was quite refreshing, and still had enough class to easily pull through. Alongside him was a smorgasbord of casting quality, though a few didn't come off in such a good light. The delightful Celia Imrie and Robert Lindsay were welcome faces, though they didn't get nearly enough screen time, and actually thinking about it - that was the story with most of the supporting cast. Colt's family - played by James McAvoy, Bernard Hill, and Elanor Bron were all great names and great talents to have, and whilst their quality was still plain to see, I just feel it was a shame that their characters were a tad flippantly written, and their screen time limited. So too was the case with a few foreign imports; Sam Neill and Jon Favreau were surprise but pleasant faces in the casting crowd, but they especially just seemed to be thrown in there for the sake of it at times.

No, rather dramatically and unabashedly the core focus of Wimbledon remained on Paul Bettany, and Kirsten Dunst who played opposite him. Whilst on one hand Dunst was horribly predictable, transparent and clichéd, she did manage to sizzle just enough and her chemistry with Paul Bettany was still quite tangible to watch.

So, if the actual tournament on the telly box isn't your thing, if you jut want some tennis-themed light entertainment, or just a good simple Brit flick, then go for Wimbledon. Whilst I don't think it is mind-blowingly brilliant, it is consistently good enough to keep me coming back year on year.