Wimbledon was also a romantic comedy starring Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany.
Kirsten plays Lizzie Bradbury a young up and coming American tennis professional who is coming to Wimbledon for her very first time, and who has more than a decent chance at the title. While Paul Bettany plays Peter Colt, a 31 year old English tennis pro who is planning on retiring after the tournament.
There are only 3 characters worth mentioning in this film, Lizzie, Peter, and Lizzie's father (Sam Neill, whose name you might not recognize, but whose face you certainly will). Everyone else is window dressing and almost completely unrelated to the plot. I just watched this movie yesterday, and I couldn't tell you the names of a single one of the other characters.
It all starts for our intrepid young couple when the desk clerk at the hotel accidentally checks Peter Colt into the suite that is already occupied by the young and beautiful Lizzie Bradbury. We see a completely unembarrassed Lizzie in the shower, while a completely embarrassed Peter Colt stutters and leaves.
Now don't get all excited about the idea of Kirsten Dunst in the shower, the scene is entirely nudity free, and in my opinion it was included just so they would have something titillating to put in the preview. So if you were hoping to see some skin then you might as well pick another movie, as Kirsten Dunst has never done a real nude scene (so very few young A-List actresses have, as it seems that nudity has gone out of fashion).
Lizzie and Peter meet again on the practice court, where they are both hitting cans with their serves. They go through a bit of friendly wagering over the serves, until Lizzie breaks Peter's concentration by exclaiming "Make this one and I'll sleep with you", while Peter was attempting a serve (which of course went off course and hit an innocent bystander).
From their our young couple has dinner, sex, and then we get into the main bit of the movie. The main part of the movie follows the formulas of almost every romantic comedy and sport's film ever made. Washed up, 119th ranked Peter manages incredible luck and determination (helped by nightly shag sessions with Lizzie), and beats opponent after opponent. Meanwhile Lizzie is also winning her matches, but we don't get to see much of them. All the while the two are sneaking around, and trying to avoid Lizzie's father and the media.
Now no romantic comedy would be complete without the misunderstanding that threatens to tear the young lovers apart. In this case it is because Lizzie eventually loses a match and is out of the tournament, her and her father both blame Peter for this. Of course Lizzie runs off and stops shagging Peter, and thus he starts doing poorly in tennis again, as apparently his tennis skills are directly related to sleeping with young American girls.
Peter is all set to lose in the final round, when midway through Lizzie comes back and makes everything peachy again, and Peter ends up winning Wimbledon and they get married, have little blond children and live happily ever after (and Lizzie goes on to win Wimbledon twice).
Overall I would have to say that this is a pretty good movie, both as a romantic comedy and as a tennis movie. We see a lot more of Paul Bettany playing tennis than we do of Kirsten Dunst (who apparently had to undergo months of physical training just to be able to play the role).
The movie is also quite attractive visually as well, and much of it was actually filmed during the 2003 Wimbledon tournament, the actors would walk out on the court at the beginning or end of a match. Thus the crowds and officials you see in many cases are actual tennis fans and officials and not just extras. You might note that the tennis balls themselves seem a little too vibrant, that is because none of the actors were very good tennis players, and all the balls were added to the shots digitally.