Wimbledon
Published July 1, 2022
Film info
- Title Wimbledon
- Director Richard Loncraine
- Year 2004
- Run time 1hr 38m
- Genres Comedy, Romance
- Tagline She's the golden girl. He's the longshot. It's a match made in Wimbledon.
Pro tennis 'hot shot' Lizzie Bradbury is a rising star who lives to win. But when she falls for long-shot contender Peter Colt amid the glitz and glamour of Wimbledon, Lizzie discovers it's not if you win or lose, but how you play the game... of love. A deliciously witty romantic comedy about chasing your dreams and risking your heart, Wimbledon is a fun and charming story of love across the net.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:48 | Pat Cash, tennis consultant. |
| 2:38 | 4 million tennis players in the world… how many now I wonder? |
| 11:40 | “You’re the lady with the lovely… kitchen.” |
| 12:58 | Look at those courts with no roofs! Adorable! |
| 19:28 | “He’s convinced if there’s a guy around, my serve gets mushy.” |
| 31:58 | The superstitions are mad. |
| 36:13 | How lucky they were at the exit of the London Eye, otherwise they’re locked up with the punched guy. |
| 43:41 | I’m not totally sure what the comet has been adding to this story. |
| 49:46 | Love her pretending to listen to music but actually listening to the match. |
| 58:09 | I wonder how many aces there have been on second serves. |
| 1:06:51 | Centre Court does not look that good after two weeks of play. |
| 1:08:06 | “I’m going for a walk,” she says, immediately stepping on a travelator. |
| 1:14:44 | I love ball boy rage. |
| 1:25:40 | Does she know anyone not called Peter? |
| 1:29:14 | Hawkeye would have ruined this dramatic moment. |
Thoughts
I’ve been wanting to watch this for about three years but it feels a bit like a Christmas movie - only really appropriate to watch at the relevant time. However, either Wimbledon wasn’t on, or there was too much actual tennis to watch to view the fictional thing, it just hasn’t come to pass. Finally, we made it work!
I’ve seen it before and thought it really wasn’t going to stand the test of time but actually it was better than I remembered it being. It’s cheesy and pretty far-fetched but it’s a gentle funny rom-com that does the job. I also really like the time capsule of Wimbledon we see here - nearly twenty years ago, there were no roofs, no Hawkeye, the website was different, rain delays just meant sacking it off and going home. Amazing.
The supporting cast was great, James McAvoy as the irritating little brother almost stole the show, and the adorable parents were fab. The tennis was handled well and I really thought it captured the tension and internal pressures really well. Not perfect, but could have been so much worse!
Rating: 3 / 5