Am I the only one thinking it's a good movie??? - Wimbledon (2004) Discussion

[–] Galadriel083 18 years ago

Glad I'm not alone here!!!!

I told you not to fall in love with me...

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This movie gives an even worse name to tennis than it already has. The romance was the usual chick flick romance, but the tennis was terrible and it enrages me.

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[–] amzywamzy23 18 years ago

Well funnily enough they are actors. NOT Tennis players. Cut them some slack. I'm yet to see a professional tennis player who can act.

by the way yes i did love this film. It really made me laugh. Carl was soooooo weird. and i liked what went through Peters head as he was playing.

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[–] case4christ 18 years ago

I totally agree. It seems as though the only people who even remotely dislike this film are all tennis players. Okay, so Bettany and Dunst don't play a convincing tennis match. But you have to admit, whoever you get to play the parts, it's not going to look excellent because they aren't tennis pros, they're Hollywood pros. Why do you think tennis movies are so scarce??? That's the whole point, it's one of the hardest sports to mimic on screen! But at least there are films with tennis being played, and I'm still betting this film got more people interested in tennis than people driven away from it.

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[–] movie025 18 years ago

You're definitively not the only one. I loved the movie.
I really liked the scenes where Peter was thinking.

Beverly Hills 90210's got the best intro ever.

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[–] amzywamzy23 18 years ago

Case4christ
I totally agree. It seems as though the only people who even remotely dislike this film are all tennis players. Okay, so Bettany and Dunst don't play a convincing tennis match. But you have to admit, whoever you get to play the parts, it's not going to look excellent because they aren't tennis pros, they're Hollywood pros. Why do you think tennis movies are so scarce??? That's the whole point, it's one of the hardest sports to mimic on screen! But at least there are films with tennis being played, and I'm still betting this film got more people interested in tennis than people driven away from it.

-

exactly! thankyou for backing me up.

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[–] bplex 18 years ago

I just finished watching the movie for a 3rd time and i have to say it might be one of my favorite sports movie...don't know why it's got a medium rating like this?

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[–] clair-13 18 years ago

No you are most definitely not alone! I love 'Wimbledon'! It is the perfect movie to just lose yourself in and feel good! It's brilliant, I have lost count of the times I have watched this movie and it never gets any less enjoyable!

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[–] penguined 18 years ago

This is the only movie I have ever rented and thought about turning off halfway through it. I liked Paul Bettany. He was the only thing that kept me watching the movie. Kirsten Dunst was horrible in this movie. She was so monotone and acted like she was reading her lines for the first time. It was painful for me to watch her in this movie.

"There are a million fine girls in the world, but they don't all bring you lasagna at work."

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[–] Dragontown 18 years ago

Great film

I'm the quiet neighbor with a big freezer.

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[–] Lari_Hoops 18 years ago

I loved the movie, I loved the way the tennis matches were filmed, really exciting I only watched it 3 times(once at the cinema and all the times i caought it on T.V) but I simply love it!

Dunst (loved her character in ElizabethTown btw also those theories ..too bad i'm not a Orlando Bloom fan...)is great and Paul "WHOA" he's really funny too but that's not a surprise :Knights Tale and Da Vinci Code just brilliant!

I love the fact that they showed how he thought during the matches it just makes it even more real and exciting and i practice a lot of sports (curiously no ttennis) and I think some of those things too and it gets you really into the match like you're playing also or something, the lovestory is nice to I loved the scene where they were pretending to play tennis in an old tennis court.. kristen dunst so funny...I loved the movie!...haven't got the DVD though....do not ask me why...I just don't for some reason :D

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[–] perfectly-messy 18 years ago

Nope, you're not the only one. I must say I always wanted to see this movie (because of Kirsten Dunst lol) I finally have a chance to see it on tv today and wow...Its awesome! Its so exciting watching the tennis games, i thought tennis is boring and yeah, but now I think I want to start playing tennis. And the romance is not bad too...I'll bt the proud dvd owner...soon :D

If i try hard, I might be a d-doctor.

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[–] outlaw-bobbiejo 18 years ago

To be honest, I didn't expect to like this film when I sat down to watch it last night. I was surprised to discover that it's actually a decent little film with good performances and a compelling story.

In particular, I didn't think I was going to like Paul Bettany but by the end, he had managed to turn me around and actually had me rooting for Peter. As an actor, Paul is more versatile than I had previously imagined.

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[–] letsfadetogether 18 years ago

its a great film! hehe, and i cant play tennis 2 save my life bit i still enjoyed it
...And Then You Shout My Name...

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[–] thegirlwhoscored 18 years ago

This movie far exceeded my expectations. I never wanted to see it, but had no choice when it turned out to be the only halfway interesting movie playing on a transatlantic flight...

As it happened, I loved it, and now own it. I don't especially like Kirsten Dunst, and the relationship was contrived -- but movies are all about suspending your disbelief. And this movie had all the wit and energy necessary to keep anyone willing to do that on the edge of their seats.

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[–] cornflake77 18 years ago

I liked it too. Good romantic comedy. I liked the setting and the leads. I expected it to be pretty good, and it delivered.

I own it, too. I acquired it in one of my new favorite ways to get movies: Some of the video stores around here will sometimes have used DVD sales where they sell them for 4 or 5 bucks. What a good deal! For basically the price of the rental, you get to "rent" the movie and then keep it! I much prefer buying movies new, but I just can't get past the logic of buying the movie for the price of the rental. I get the movies I really know I want new, but the used sales are a great way for me to see the movies I'd rent at some point with the bonus of getting to keep them forever for only about a buck extra in price. The only reservation I have on those sales is that the Wal-Marts in my area sell a bunch of brand new movies at $5.50 and $7.50 price points. When they have the same movies, I'd rather pay $5.50 or even $7.50 for it new rather than $5.00 for it used.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] gvsamoore-1 18 years ago

I just got the DVD and think it is a great film too.

The humor (especially Paul Bettany) is very well timed and has that classic British underdog "irony" to it. The on court action is very believable given the use of camera angles and editing and use of distance vs close up and wont have you thinking its two actors trying to portray something they are not.

The leading couple have good chemistry. Kirsten Dunst is quite the upstart rising star and plays this role well on court though she is likeable off court.

Bethany the melancholy outgoing soon to retire Brit tennis hope with a trail of mediocre career memories - being all that is left to dwell on - is just terriffic.

The parents of the Paul Bethany's character and the people who know him are funny in their own right and add to the good feel humour of the film.

The script writers are wonderful too as it is they who can make or break a movie like this no matter what everyone else does to fix it.

No - this is a lovely piece of film making and I am happy to have it in my collection.

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[–] jamiemcgrory 17 years ago

I love the film and paul bettanys character is great, especially in the scenes where you hear him thinking to himself, the sort of 'given up cos i'm old' stigma thing makes him seem so laid back considering he's really brickin it cos its his last wimbledon.

‘If lil red ridin hood shows up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.’

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[–] bluemuse-2 17 years ago

Aw I love this movie! I love Paul Bettany, so when I saw it, I was already anticipating on liking it. But it was better than I thought. It's not one of the movies I remember for any particular reason, such as the script or scenery,...It's just a nice story :)

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[–] sabarnes-1 17 years ago

I love this movie too. I just bought the dvd for the second time... It always makes me smile.

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[–] kathco 17 years ago

I saw the trailer for Wimbledon and then it never opened after all. I think after it did badly in the UK and the US they pulled it from Africa too! So I figured it was probably bad, but then some friends of mine rented it one night for a pizza evening and I totally loved it! I went out and bought the dvd and now it's in my top 10 romantic comedies, which is no mean feat considering it's my favourite genre.

What I can't understand is WHY this witty, fun movie was so panned by critics and did so badly box-office-wise. I don't get it.

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[–] khalefadoriath 17 years ago

It deserved to be crucified. I watched an hour of this drivel last night and can't believe that brilliant actors like Sam Neill, Bernard Hill, even Celia Imrie and James McAvoy were involved with this and it still stank. The performances were so bad it seemed like everyone just "lay back and thought of the money".

1) The script was stilted and embarrassing. Even the commentators, famous former players sounded dry and wooden.

2) Dunst and Bettany have zero chemistry.

3) Neither of the leads look like they have any understanding of the sport and the scenes in which Bettany talks to himself while playing are excruciating.

4) The falls, accidents and arguments in the final were unrealistic and stupid.

5) The sugar-sickly ending was predictable.

I suspect that the people who have enjoyed this rubbish the most are American and have a quaint idea of what Britishness is.

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