No. 115 : Wimbledon (2004)

Wimbledon at the IMDb

We may be in the middle of clay court season but there’s always time for a good old British under dog rom-com. Paul Bettany takes on the Hugh Grant role as the soppy Brit taken out of his comfort zone by a sassy American. Bettany plays Peter Colt the World ranked 110 player who once was 11th but now tumbling down the pecking order. He’s considering taking on a job at Citizen Smith’s country club and a wild card at Wimbledon means he has a chance to close out his career at the grand slam.

A cock up at the Dorchester sees him going to the room of young American star Lizzy Bradbury and catching her in the shower. After doing the English twit routine he resolves to enjoy his final tournament with the indifferent support of his dad Yosser Hughes and brother James McAvoy out of ‘Wanted’. His first round against an Indian up and comer goes well after our man is reinvigorated after a rendezvous with Lizzy.

As the tournament progresses Peter finds renewed spirit as the romance blossoms. There are of course bumps in the road with Sam Neil’s over protective Dad and Jon Favereau’s pushy agent offering mild concerns. With Lizzy’s game suffering and Peter on the ascendancy we have to guess whether the underdog will win the title, the girl or both. Yes, wonder.

A film like this is pretty much immune to criticism. Any tennis fan will pick nits through the ludicrous tournament progression and wonder why a British player in the semi finals is relegated to an outside court. The actual tennis action is OK and wisely kept to a minimum. The shots are rarely classics with a lot more players than you’d expect falling over and missing easy running passes.

Bettany is likable in the lead but doesn’t impress as a champion tennis player or as the all conquering swordsman. Kirsten Dunst is better as Lizzy but she must be the oldest Wimbledon debutant in history. She’s a bit too good goody as the spoiled brat, but that role didn’t suit her in the first place. The pair don’t convince as a couple but when Kirsten gets down to her skimpies I found that I didn’t really care.

On the home front the family are largely superfluous with the parents romance being rekindled by the tournament run pretty unconvincing. In an early role for McAvoy he gets little to do as the gambling brother soon to see the light.

We all love an underdog and while the journey is pretty far fetched stranger things have happened. Not many but maybe the odd one. With a Brit doing the business at Wimbledon and a ginger bloke pulling a Yank hottie we know it’s a work of fiction but it’s an inoffensive and mildly amusing distraction.

Wait, better end on a tennis metaphor…it’s smash hit. Well a service hold late in the first set at any rate.

Best Bit : Kirsten takes a shower
‘W’ Rating : 14/23

No.39 : When We Were Kings (1996)

When We Were Kings at the IMDb

‘When We Were Kings’ is a 1997 documentary focusing on the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Zaire in 1974. The fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman has attained legendary status and this documentary features footage unseen until now owing to copyright issues.

The fight itself is something of a footnote with the action not starting until an hour into the film and lasting barely ten minutes of its running time. That’s fair enough as the boxing is only one aspect of a ground breaking event that captivated the world.

The film opens with a then youthful Don King announcing a $10 million purse and that the fight is going back home to Africa. It’s quickly revealed that this isn’t due to any worthy cultural reasons but due to the president of Zaire agreeing to put up the massive bank roll.

The footage follows both fighters through their preparations including the injury suffered by Foreman which delayed the action for six weeks. Interspersed between the clips are various worthies such as Norman Mailer, who talks about the fight, and Spike Lee, who predictably talks about it’s cultural impact on the oppressed black community.

The footage of Ali especially, is cracking with his ready wit and bristling personality at its height. The talk of the time was of his bravado as Foreman was highly fancied to win, but it was good to see him prevail using tactics that Rocky Ballboa would later employ in his rematch with Clubber Lang.

Added to the jamboree was the inclusion of both James Brown and BB King, and we are treated to short bursts of both their sets. Brown is especially pleasing with his short lived moustached and topless dancers.

The film has a pretty short running time with a montage of photos over the title track used to pad things out. This isn’t a criticism as such, as I’d rather it be short and sweet than bloated and worthy.

Overall ‘When We Were Kings’ is a cracking example of the sports documentary and a rare insight into the world of true legends.

Best Bit : The fix is in - oh it isn’t!

‘W’ Score : 18/23