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.
Release Year: 2004
Rating: 6.3/10 (28,863 voted)
Critic's Score: 59/100
Director:
Richard Loncraine
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau
Storyline Peter Colt, an English tennis player in his thirties whose ranking slipped from 11th to 119th in the world, considers he never really had to fight for anything as his wealthy but all but close family easily put him trough studies and allowed him to pursue his tennis ambitions, bravely exchanges jokes with his German sparring partner Dieter Prohl, in a similar position, but feels it's about time to admit he's getting too old to compete with fitter coming men (or boys) and intends, after a last Wimbledon, to take a job with the prestigious tennis club instead. Just then, by accident, he bumps into Lizzie Bradbury, the American rising star of female tennis, falls in love with her and finds her interest in him changes his entire perception, even gives him the strength to win again. But where will it lead them, especially when her overprotective father-manager Dennis Bradbury proves determined to nip their relationship in the bud, believing it detrimental to her career?
Writers: Adam Brooks, Jennifer Flackett
Cast: Kirsten Dunst
-
Lizzie Bradbury
Paul Bettany
-
Peter Colt
Sam Neill
-
Dennis Bradbury
Jon Favreau
-
Ron Roth
Bernard Hill
-
Edward Colt
Eleanor Bron
-
Augusta Colt
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
-
Dieter Prohl
Austin Nichols
-
Jake Hammond
Robert Lindsay
-
Ian Frazier
James McAvoy
-
Carl Colt
John McEnroe
-
Himself
Chris Evert
-
Court Commentator Chris Evert
Mary Carillo
-
Court Commentator Mary Carillo
John Barrett
-
Court Commentator John Barrett
Kyle Hyde
-
Monte Carlo Opponent
Taglines:
She's the golden girl. He's the longshot. It's a match made in...
Filming Locations: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, UK
Box Office Details
Budget: $31,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $7,118,985
(USA)
(19 September 2004)
(2034 Screens)
Gross: $41,512,007
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The lead role was originally intended for Hugh Grant.
Goofs:
Factual errors:
On the day of the final, we hear the Radio 1 Breakfast Show DJ Chris Moyles announcing the match, however Moyles's show is Monday to Friday and the men's final is on Sunday. Similarly, the men's and women's semifinals are shown being played on adjacent outside courts, whereas in reality they would be played (a) on show courts and (b) on different days (normally Friday and Thursday respectively) unless there were sustained rain delays, which does not seem to have been the case.
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...
User Review
Tennis Movie's
Rating: 10/10
There aren't many Tennis movies so when one does come out, Tennis fans
are quick to see it and quick to judge it. As well as being a movie
about Britain's famous Wimbledon Tennis Tournament it is a romantic
comedy. I think a lot of people who see the movie and are disappointed
with the so called lack of Tennis scenes are forgetting the movie is
also about the romance between the two tennis players (Paul Bettany and
Kirsten Dunst.) I loved the movie, I thought it was quirky, romantic
and fun. There are heaps of real-life tennis couples and this movie is
a great example of how two people from different places and upbringings
can change each other's lives. If you like romantic comedyies or sports
movies than I definitely recommend this movie.
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