this is stuff you like you can call me Ursa and I am back! Back to the
comforting embrace of the Midlands where I've been doing my taxes
eating chocolate orange watching Wimbledon... wait is it just me or does
that ball boy look really familiar? And apparently I've also been suffering from
stress induced hallucinations. Never mind. it's British summer time which means
Wimbledon, overpriced strawberries and cream, rain, more rain, and the feel-good
sports movie where Paul Bettany wins England's most prestigious tennis
tournament, yeah spoiler and also prances about in
his pants for he is Paul Bettany and I think he's kind of obliged to do that in
all of his films. So in spite of my complete indifference to tennis I
figured this was the perfect time to review this the sportiest of rom-coms.
And if you're a Sherlock fan to recommend A Study in Winning which is
basically what happens when you make this film nc-17 and sort of smoosh it
together with the cast of Sherlock. The plot it goeth thusly Paul Bettany is
the almost 32 year old Peter Colt last hope old timer Englishman who gets a
wildcard entry into Wimbledon. He intends it to be the end of his pro career which
has frankly been heading downhill of late, and after the tournament is over he
plans to take up the job at a tennis club full of old women who wish to ogle
him. "we shall look forward to giving you a peek at our ground strokes won't we ladies?" "Oh do shut up Sylvia"
while at Wimbledon he meets Kirsten Dunst playing Lizzie Bradbury and yes I
do have to say it like that an ambitious and sexually liberated
but somewhat naive daddy's girl / up-and-coming young tennis pro. They
flirt a bit he buys her fish and chips and she's like "so, want to have sex?" and
he's like "is the Pope a Catholic?" so the basic structure of the film goes tennis,
hanging out and flirting, sex, tennis, hanging out and flirting, sex, tennis, party,
hanging out and falling in love, flirting, tennis, sex, you get the idea.
not that you see any of the sex because this film is rated 12 but the filmmakers
would like you to know that Lizzie and Peter are having a lot of it regardless
Peter Colt starts winning matches and then shockingly keeps winning matches
and the relationship between old timer and newbie develops and deepens and
causes problems and a shocking twist I'm not gonna tell you about right at this
moment and then the end he's in the final feeling guilty about his booty call and oh the
tension and yeah it's a sports movie you know he's gonna win. there's also a
subplot about his family including his waster of a younger brother and his
parents who are having some issues and both of these subplots are resolved by Peter
winning. Tennis the source of and solution to all of life's problems.
That said I really love this film. In the matter of Bend It Like Beckham and Love
Actually which I will cover at some nearer to Christmas like point. it's sweet
and daffy and rom-com like it's funny there are interesting secondary characters
the main character is self-deprecating and snarky and sweet and polite and also
Paul Bettany we've already talked some about sports movies in a Knight's Tale
which my astute commenters have pointed out by the way is mostly based on the
Hedge Knight so thank you astute commenters so let's talk about rom-coms.
plot is driven by conflict rom-com plots are about love therefore rom-com plots are
about the obstacles in the way of that loved one Lizzy saddened to Lizzie's
desire to win Wimbledon and for the most part any misunderstandings and
misunderstanding is a really big source of conflict and rom-coms will be sorted
out by the end and the characters will end up together
nobody wants a romantic comedy where the leads aren't actually perfect for each
other this film must end with joy and rainbows and sunshine and long-term
relationships even if you do have to break them up at the beginning of the
sequel see please Miss Congeniality this textbook happy ending isn't always
the case and it hasn't always been the norm either Roman Holiday for example is
definitely a romantic comedy but it ends spoiler alert with our two leads going
there BIRT ways in the final scene the
princess instead of fighting the party line about hi every sedation visitors
equally awesome gets her true opinion and the reporter gives her back the
photographs of her doing under princessy things during their time together thus
preserving her reputation probably at the cost of his job because he loves her
and then he just walks away the love that they have shared over the course of
well the day has made them into better people but the obstacles to their love
cannot be overcome without sacrificing something more dear to them and so they
just let go and like I said in my original review of Roman Holiday that's
not necessarily a bad thing but we can have the nice simple happy ending in
Wimbledon because no such overriding duty exists you can have it all Lizzie
Bradbury sex love and tennis whereas Peter is like winning is good
sex is good love is good what's the problem
Lizzie struggles to reconcile them but reconciled them she eventually does
parole that Peter is a main character all of the conflict rests on Lizzie
she's the one with the most to lose and she's the one who makes the decisions
for the most part Lizzie is the driver of conflict because she doesn't see how
she can play tennis and be in love with Peter and like I said she makes most of
the decisions she initiates a sexual relationship she breaks it off with
Peter when she thinks that it will prevent her from winning she yeah it's
really hard to do this next bit without a spoiler so if you don't want to know
you can just skip the next ten seconds okay go
so Peter sneaks in to see Lizzie the night before her match and they have sex
and she subsequently loses the match and breaks up with him because of it she's
about to leave the country when she hears the apology which he makes on
national TV because he realizes that sneaking into her house for a booty call
that she'd asked him to stay away it was kind of show me okay you back grit she
accepts the apology and she hosts the dressing-room and she gives him the pep
talk that enables him to go out there and fight and win her a she's driving
the plot and making the decisions and unusually for a rom-com
there are no negative repercussions on her career because of it rather like in
Thor the narrative once you know that Lizzie
and have it all the future is of course no bright for Peter but he's at the end
of his pro career so he gets the glory and the wife and the kids and the
fulfilling job true but Lizzie gets the husband and the kids and the multiple
Wimbledon titles and the rest of our career so all I know I think I call it a
win for both of them and it's nice to have a rom-com which doesn't depend on
deception to drive the plot forward unlike say 27 dresses hard to Lose a Guy
in 10 days you've got mail 10 Things I Hate About You then we do like that one
yeah there are a lot of examples of that anyway if you haven't I'd recommend you
go check it out it's fun it's funny it's fantastical by
which I mean never gonna happen because it ends with the British guy winning
Wimbledon and no but seriously the ball boy looks really really familiar I think
he might be losing it they need help I'll see you all next time bye
it's not good I think I'm hallucinating like I see the porn critic everywhere in
places he has no business being like 2004 British chrome combs about tennis
what am I supposed to do Ursa you know I'm really not that kind
of doctor