Wimbledon
2004
**
Director: Richard Loncraine
Cast: Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Elliott, Bernard Hill, James MacAvoy
The screenplay to this British romcom clearly uses the Four Weddings and a Funeral template. It's a familiar story of a stuttering Englishman (a fading tennis ace) and a self-confident young American (a rising star of the female circuit), who fall in love during the Wimbledon tournament. One tiny surprise would be refreshing, but no, it even comes with the by-now-familiar "this is what happened next" epilogue. And what do we learn about tennis? Winning a Grand Slam is only a matter of believing in yourself.
