(Who knew tennis could be so sexy?)
CAST: Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Neill, James MacAvoy, Jon Favreau, Bernard Hill, Eleanor Bron, Austin Nichols.
DIRECTOR: Richard Loncraine
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and pretty strong argument for short white shorts and short white skirts - straight ahead…
In our reviews for BASIC INSTINCT (review # 83) and THE PROPOSAL (review # 369), we talked about how screenwriters in Hollywood and elsewhere must deal with one rather annoying occupational hazard: working and slaving on a project for months or even years, then suddenly discovering through a trade magazine or newspaper that a movie with the same story is already shooting or getting ready to start pre-production.
Way back in 1990, I wrote a script called STILETTO about a NYC homicide detective who investigates a series of brutal slayings of Manhattan men involving a stiletto dagger. They all turn out to be the exes of a mysterious photographer whose photos and videos eerily predict the killings. With her as the common link, she is instantly the prime suspect. But the cop doesn’t count on slowly falling for her, despite the fact that she might be the one who committed all the crimes. Sound familiar? It’s pretty much the plot of BASIC INSTINCT - and I wrote it way before BASIC INSTINCT came out.
Then there’s the script a writer/director friend of mine wrote in 2004 called SWITCHING TEAMS, a comedy about two men - one a British straight guy, the other an American gay dude - who are forced to pretend they are married so that the Brit won’t get deported. A suspicious INS investigator digs into their relationship, and they are forced to step up the charade in order to not get in trouble - but they unexpectedly fall for each other. My friend actually had me in my mind for the gay dude (big stretch there) to keep costs down. If this story also sounds familiar, it’s because it’s basically THE PROPOSAL starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, but with a hetero couple.
Needless to say, my friend and I basically shelved both STILETTO and SWITCHING TEAMS because they were just too similar to BASIC INSTINCT and THE PROPOSAL. And we both moved on. It is what it is.
Then, in 2002, it happened to me again. See, after watching my first World Cup in 1998, I was inspired by the whole spectacle, and started working on a project called THE ITALIAN STRIKER. It was meant to not only tap into my lifelong fascination with soccer, but also my back-then newfound-love for the World Cup. It was meant to be a romantic comedy revolving around the World Cup 2002 about an Italian-American forward (or striker) on the U.S. National Team who’s lost his drive for the game, and intends to retire (even though he’s only in his early thirties) after the tournament.
Then he meets a beautiful half-American/Half-British photojournalist covering the tournament who is fiery and passionate about soccer. Before long, her passion for the sport not only makes him fall for her, but also revives his ardor for the game which fires up his playing. This leads to the U.S. National Team blazing its way up the rosters and into the Quarter Finals. The Italian striker and the photojournalist’s relationship intensifies, as well, which becomes problematic - because she’s the fiancee of the captain of the British National Team. Ooops. And when the U.S. and the British National teams make it into the finals, it leads to all-out war both on the soccer field, and off it. So it's not just professional - it's also personal now. Who will win the World Cup - and the photojournalist’s heart? Her fiancee - or the Italian striker? Oh, and the whole world just happens to be watching...
I had written several drafts of THE ITALIAN STRIKER by the time late 2002 rolled around. By then I’d changed the setting to the World Cup 2006 in Germany, for obvious reasons. Then one day I read in a newspaper about a romantic comedy script called WIMBLEDON that was already undergoing casting and entering pre-production. It was about two tennis players - one on his way down and about to retire, the other on her way up and about to become a star - who meet during the famed Wimbledon tournament in England. They end up falling in love - which is problematic because the female player’s controlling father thinks it will ruin her game. The hero’s game, on the other hand, improves considerably. Which leads him to blaze a trail up the rosters - and into the finals.
I remember thinking: “Oh, goddamnit. Not again.” In the end, though, I didn’t shelve THE ITALIAN STRIKER the way I did STILETTO. Why? Because after I saw WIMBLEDON in 2004, I realized that once you get past the superficial similarities between the two stories (two people unexpectedly fall in love while a world-famous sporting event unfolds around them), the movies are really quite different. THE ITALIAN STRIKER is not just about a love between two people, but also about their love for the game of soccer and how universal it is - and how it transforms them both. What better place to demonstrate that passion than at the World Cup itself?
In other words, there was hope left for THE ITALIAN STRIKER, after all. Currently, I’m turning the screenplay into a novel, with the setting changed to the World Cup 2018. My trip to the Brazil World Cup 2014 won’t be just to cover the games - but also to do research for the novel. The story began its life in 1998, so it’s been almost 13 years in the making - but I don’t mind waiting a few more years if it means getting the World Cup details right. How else can you write about the World Cup without attending it first? I’d always planned to go to the World Cup to do research. The opportunity never really presented itself until now. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for THE ITALIAN STRIKER. If the book ever gets published, maybe it’ll get turned into a movie. We’ll see…
Back to WIMBLEDON, which as I mentioned before follows the same template of two folks who fall for each other in the middle of a famed tournament race. Our lovebirds are not an Italian-American forward and British-American photojournalist, but a British tennis ace player and an up-and-coming American star player. He is Peter Cort (Paul Bettany), and she is Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst). And they couldn’t be more mismatched.
You see, Peter used to be the # 11 in the world rankings, but is now something like # 119. Which even an idiot like me who knows diddly-squat about tennis can tell you is not a good thing. Lizzie, on the other hand, is the polar opposite: she’s what in the military we call a “fast-burner”. Meaning, she looks as young as Kirsten Dunst, but she’s already gained more stature and mileage than any of her more experienced, veteran peers. Like, you know, Peter.
This being a romantic comedy, our couple has to have a “meet-cute” - meaning a scene where they first meet that isn’t the way any real-life couple would ever meet. In the movies, you can’t something as lame as, oh, running into each other repeatedly in the elevator and making chit-chat. Ya gotta make things more interesting. In WIMBLEDON’s case, Peter and Lizzie’s meet-cute involves: (1) the incompetent staff of their hotel giving Peter the wrong room, which (2) turns out to be Lizzie’s, where Peter finds her (3) showering. To her credit, Lizzie doesn’t even bat an eyelash when he spots her in her dripping-wet birthday suit. More like gives him some serious “bedroom eyes”.
Even though Peter leaves the room red-faced and with a boner, you know it’s just a matter of time before they meet up again to consummate that attraction. Sure enough, after scarfing down some fish-and-chips (which would not be my food of choice before a sex marathon) Peter and Lizzie proceed to have themselves a, um, love match of their own.
Unfortunately, Lizzie’s dad (Sam Neill) is not exactly over the moon about his daughter’s new romance. He’s your basic over-protective worry wart who’s sure that Lizzie’s going to fluch her game down the toilet because of our boy Peter. Before you know it, Mr. Bradbury basically declares Lizzie and about a hundred feet around her a “Peter-free” zone. At least until the tournament is over.
Can Peter and Lizzie wait that long? Or will they find a way to make it all work out? What happens when Lizzie’s game does get affected for the worse? Will she hold it against Peter? Or will she understand and cut him some slack? Does Peter actually have a chance at winning Wimbledon and moving out of the # 119 slot? Or will Lizzie beat him at it? And the most important question of all: will their sex life suffer if Lizzie wins Wimbledon?
That’s why a player should never get involved with another player. They should just go for us photojournalists. I’m just saying…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Soccer is a sport that is rough, graceful, gritty, elegant, intense, and smooth in equal measure. If THE ITALIAN STRIKER ever gets published or turned into a movie, I’d love to see a director like Ridley Scott (GLADIATOR, BLACK HAWK DOWN) brings it to the screen. He’s a director gifted at scenes that are both kinetic and emotional at the same time. Think of the action scenes in GLADIATOR. That’s the kind of intensity the World Cup soccer scenes would need. Scott could also bring his quiet sense of style and grace for the more character-driven, intimate scenes off the field.
WIMBLEDON, on the other hand, revolves around tennis. I’ve always thought of tennis as a “lighter” sport. No rough stuff, practically the opposite of soccer. As such, the film needs a similarly light touch. There a few moments of intensity throughout the film, but the overall tones is airy and breezy, much like the way I view tennis. This is not a dis on the sport, as some are as passionate as some of us are for soccer. But tennis is simply not something I’ve followed.
It’s a credit to director Richard Loncraine and his gifted cast that the tennis matches comes to life and engaged me. I expected to be a little bored by them, but I was actually leaning forward to catch the action. Loncraine films the tennis scenes in gliding, flowing manner that never becomes dull, but rather keeps your attention. Considering I’ve never been able to watch a tennis game on TV for more than 30 seconds, that’s saying something.
It helps considerably that Loncraine has a group of remarkable actors playing roles that are vivid and well-defined. Of special note is Paul Bettany as Peter Cort, who is easily one of the most likable protagonists to star in any film. As written, Peter is the scion of wealthy family - but you’d never know it from looking at him. Self-mocking, humble, mellow, thoughtful, and always gracious, he basically gives us a very strong rooting interest. Bettany makes it abundantly clear why a firecracker like Lizzie, who has her pick of men, would fall for this unglamorous guy. It’s a nice, low-key performance with the right amounts of intensity here and there. The fact that the final match between Peter and his opponent is so suspenseful can be attributed to how much we’ve come to like the character.
In the pivotal role of the woman who catches his fancy, Kirsten Dunst does very well. Lizzie Bradbury is obviously modeled as the “Fun-Loving American Amidst Reserved Brits” in the tradition of Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) from NOTTING HILL and Carrie (Andie MacDowell) from FOUR WEDDING AND A FUNERAL. In her hands, Lizzie is a potent mix of fiery talent, steely determination, spicy playfulness, and tender uncertainty. Plus, she has great chemistry with Bettany. Lizzie and Peter are a screen couple you automatically want to see make it because their interactions are so solid and believable.
In pivotal supporting roles, Sam Neill, Austin Nichols, and Jon Favreau are pretty good, themselves. Favreau, in particular, is hilarious as Peter’s opportunistic American agent. He gets the best laughs in the movie.
In the end, WIMBLEDON is a nice love story set in the middle of the most famous tennis tournament in the world. It’s refreshingly tart and sweet in the right proportions. In the end, it’s different enough from THE ITALIAN STRIKER for me to hold on to the project and continue working on it - as I have been on and off since 1998. Hopefully, it'll hit the printed page and the silver screen one day...
Let's keep our fingers crossed...
