The film is primarily seen from Peter Colt’s (Bettany’s) perspective. He is a professional tennis player in his waning years – in fact, after his participation in the upcoming Wimbledon tournament (he gets into tournament as a wildcard), he has plans to retire and work as a pro at a posh tennis club.

A ‘happy accident’ leads to Peter bumping into brash American upstart Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst). Sparks fly but the course of true love never did run smoothly. An overbearing tennis parent (in the form of Sam Neill), sees his daughter’s budding interest with Mr. Colt as an impedance to the glory on grass that (obviously) awaits. Add to the mix the pressure of the Wimbledon competition and you have a recipe for several peaks and valleys before our film reaches its satisfying climax.

Although Wimbledon is a fairly straightforward tale, it is a winner in my book down to a well-written script and solid performances from the leads and supporting characters. Of note are Jon Favreau as Peter’s opportunistic sports agent and James McAvoy as Peter’s ne’er do well younger brother, Carl. Also having been filmed in and around London and Brighton does not hurt either

* be sure to visit Todd Mason’s blog for more great overlooked titles!

I then did the obligatory task of searching under the sport of tennis and this is what the search yielded:

Chart Source: SportsInMovies.com

ONLY FOUR MOVIES? How can that be?  Before I rundown this list, there is obviously one significant omission Strangers on a Train. Who can forget this?

Now back to the list … I have seen 3 out of 4 the movies listed (Never heard of “Nobody’s Perfect” until I did the search). And while Match Point features a tennis player, it is essentially a very minor plot point (and part of the title). Tennis Anyone is pretty much a turkey made by folks who obviously love the game and just wanted to make a film about it.  But it has Draco Malfoy’s dad in it so it cannot be too horrific of a watch.

That just leaves Wimbledon. I was at first skeptical about this film because it was in and out of theater, which did not bode well. But I finally caught it on HBO a number of years ago. And I am glad I did. Paul Bettany and a pre-overly famous James McAvoy?  And it is shot in and around London? You really cannot get sweeter than that. Besides it is a cute story with characters who were doppelgangers/composites of real life players. If you love tennis I highly recommend this film.