Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Movie Review: Wimbledon

I have Ryan McCluskey to thank for seeing this movie. He's an old friend of the family and our parents are still close friends, so I stay informed of what's up with his career. Thus far he's appeared in one made for TV movie and two feature films, none of which I would have seen had he not been in them, all of which I've seen now. OK, the made for TV movie I turned off after the first 20 minutes, since he died 15 minutes in, but I saw his part. In Resident Evil he was the first person in the credits (credits were in order of appearance), and also in the preview which I thought was pretty darn cool.

The reason I go see everything he's in is not only because I think he's a pretty darn good actor and it's cool to see someone I know on the big screen, but someday they're going to do an E! True Hollywood Story about him, and they'll surely want to interview me to talk about how we used to watch MTV in his basement in our junior high days, so I feel I must stay on top of his career to be prepared for when that time comes.

If you go to see this movie exclusively because of Ryan's appearance you may be dissappointed because his part is very small and near the end of the movie. Have you seen the movie? At the end when the guy is playing in the Wimbledon finals and the girl walks into the stands Ryan is the broadcast director who says something to the effect of, "Look who's come into the stands, get a shot of her." You get a brief shot of his face and a shot of his wrist.

So that was a bust, but I still found enjoyment in the movie. The opening credits grabbed my attention as they were very well done. It was as if they were a tennis ball being volleyed across the screen, so you found yourself doing the back and forth with your head to read them.

It's about as predictable a plot as a romantic comedy can have. Kirsten Dunst is tennis' hot new thing. Her Dad is her manager, and great things are expected of her here. Paul Bettany is ranked 119th in the world and made it into the tournament on a wildcard. This is to be his final tournament, and he's already got the job as a tennis pro at the swanky country club lined up. The two randomly meet. Her dad dissapproves because the boy will take her attention off the game. She doesn't listen. Her game suffers, but he goes on to win the Wimbledon finals and the girl of his dreams. Hopefully I haven't spoiled anyting for you.

The cinematography was awesome. They used some cool effects and angles that made it visually interesting to watch.

Paul Bettany is adorable. He may become my new fake boyfriend. He's got that quirky charm that just sucks you in and grabs him. He's not asked to do any great acting in this role, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have it in him. He definitely has the looks, charm and british accent to be the next Hugh Grant.

Kirsten Dunst is a whole other story. The girl cannot act. As in it is difficult to watch scenes where she is on the screen because she is so obviously just reciting memorized lines and not putting any emotion or character into any of it at all. I know she's the hot young thing and everyone loves her, but I'm telling you don't get sucked in by the hype.

Final verdict: If you're home doing nothing some Saturday afternoon and it comes on cable it's probably worth a watch. Or if you're seriously in need of a romantic comedy with an enchanting male lead it could be worth a rental at the local video store. Otherwise it's probably not worth ith. There are many other movies that do what it sets out to do a little less predictably and without a horrible leading actress holding court.

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