Line #15 Film/Wimbledon


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wimbledon_movie_poster.jpg]]
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3	''Wimbledon'' is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Richard Loncraine. The film centers on a washed-up tennis pro named Peter Colt (played by Creator/PaulBettany) and an up-and-coming star player named Lizzie Bradbury (played by Creator/KirstenDunst) during the Wimbledon Championships.
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5	The film is dedicated to the lawyer and sports agent Mark [=McCormack=], who died on 16 May 2003 after suffering cardiac arrest four months earlier.
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9	!!Some tropes in this movie are:
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11	* AbhorrentAdmirer Jake Hammond keeps pestering Lizzie to go out with him despite her repeatedly telling him she wants nothing to do with him due to his {{Jerkass}} attitude.
12	* ActorAllusion: In one scene Peter is trying to sneak past his manager who mumbles the name "Jennifer" in his sleep. In real life Creator/PaulBettany is married to Creator/JenniferConnelly. Jon Favreau ad-libbed the name to try and make Paul [[{{Corpsing}} laugh]].
13	* ApologizesALot: Lizzie accuses Peter of this, saying it's "A British thing".
14	* ArrowCam: There are several shots that follow the ball in the first person during the tennis games. Sometimes even in SlowMotion.
15	* AsHimself: Given the film was shot during the actual Wimbledon tournament, several tennis professionals who were there have a minor [[TheCameo cameos]] in the film.
16	* BabiesEverAfter: The last scene is set several years in the future where Peter and Lizzie are HappilyMarried and living in New York, teaching their kids how to play tennis.
17	* BathtubBonding: ''Sauna'' bonding. After their game, Peter and Dieter bond on the sauna, re-affirming their friendship.
18	* BattleInTheRain: Subverted. It starts to rain in the final match between Peter and Hammond, but they don't play in the rain and the match is postponed instead.
19	* BeautifulDreamer: After their night together, Lizzie watches Peter sleeping in the morning after, before she gets out of bed.
20	* BigGame: {{UsefulNotes/Wimbledon}}, it's the titular Grand Slam tennis tournament in which the main characters are playing, and Peter's final tournament regardless of his result before he agrees to a coaching job.
21	* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: Peter and Lizzie break up after their respective semis [[spoiler:because she was furious that he cost her her match while he easily won his]]. They make up during [[spoiler:the final, where she returns to give him crucial advice for beating Hammond]].
22	* CareerVersusMan: Lizzie finds herself in this dichotomy, [[spoiler:specially when she loses her match after having spent the whole night with Peter... and he wins his own]]. [[spoiler:She breaks up with him, but later they make amends and by the end of the movie, we see that they've managed a sort-of balance: they get married, Peter retires, and soon Lizzie goes on winning the US Open ''and'' Wimbledon twice, with Peter as [[UnderstandingBoyfriend her biggest supporter]].]]
23	* CharacterNarrator: Main character Peter narrates the film, giving his perspective on the events after every scene.
24	* CometOfDoom: Peter seems to go on a winning streak at the tournament only while a comet is in the sky. And when him and Lizzie break up before the finals, the comet disappears from the sky, along with Peter's skill and self-confidence.
25	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Jake Hammond is the 1st ranked tennis player in the world and the favorite the win Wimbleton, and he's Peter's final opponent. [[spoiler:Peter wins, but only after a pep talk from Lizzie]].
26	* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Sort-of. At the start, one of Peter's reasons to be on a tennis slump is that he's kind of a ShelteredAristocrat who hasn't really fought for anything in his life.
27	* DirtyOldWoman: One of the women at the tennis club isn't shy with her statements about (comparably) younger men, to her friend's consternation.
28	* EagleLand: Jake Hammond is of the arrogant JerkAss type.
29	* EnterStageWindow: When Lizzie's father forbids him from seeing her, he tries to sneak into her room via the window. At first he picks the wrong window and ends up at ''her dad's'' room, but manages to sneak away without being seen before finding her window.
30	* {{Foil}}: The two main characters, Lizzie and Peter are made to contrast each other when it comes to their tennis career. She is a rising star having her first try at Wimbledon, while he is a fading one star having his last go at the tournament before he retires.
31	* FriendshipMoment: Peter's third match is against his best friend Dieter. [[spoiler:After Peter wins, Dieter assures him that this changes nothing between them and they'll stay practice partners.]]
32	* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:Peter and Lizzie's kids seem to be as adept at tennis as their parents are.]]
33	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Peter and Dieter, practice partners [[spoiler:and third-round opponents]].
34	* ICouldaBeenAContender: Peter is a fading tennis star who just never quite made it big. He gets a wild card berth at Wimbledon and vows that, win or lose, he'll retire from the pro circuit after this tournament. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as the film ends with him actually winning Wimbledon, but choosing to retire on a high note.]]
35	* IdleRich: Peter came from a rich family, and he put a lot of focus on his tennis career purely because he feels he never really struggled in life. His brother plays this even more straight, having no job or hobby.
36	* KickTheDog: Perhaps unintentional, but Hammond serves a ball right into a ball boy's face [[spoiler:at the beginning of the final between him and Peter. Peter decides then that ItsPersonal.]]
37	* LastSecondChance: For Peter, he either wins Wimbledon this time or his career is over.
38	* LoveHurts: And it certainly influences Peter and Lizzie's relationship.
39	* LoveIsAWeakness: Lizzie's father didn't mind her sleeping around before, but does become worried when she seems to start falling for Peter for real, since it starts to distract her and is throwing off her game.
40	* ModestyBedsheet: Lizzie and Peter have a bedsheet up to their waist when we see them in the morning after they slept together. Lizzie also changes [[SexyShirtSwitch into his shirt]] when she gets up.
41	* NakedFirstImpression: Peter walks into what he thinks is his hotel room only to find Lizzie taking a [[ShowerOfAwkward shower]], although he only gets a ShouldersUpNudity and SexySilhouette view since she's behind the frosted glass. She actually handles the situation cooly, but he's [[DistractedByTheSexy rather distracted]]. Thankfully to him, she's amused by his bumbling.
42	-->'''Peter:''' Yes, goodbye, and may I say [[GibberishOfLove good body?]]\
43	'''Lizzie:''' ''[grins at him]]''\
44	'''Peter:''' Luck! Oh, shit! I meant... shit! ''[Peter goes towards a door and opens it]'' Ah. Lovely kitchen.\
45	'''Lizzie:''' ''[still grinning, she points to the actual exit]'' That way.
46	* NiceToTheWaiter: Peter recognises the ball boy who keeps getting assigned to his matches and always greets the kid in a friendly way. By contrast, Jake Hammond hits the same ball boy in the face with a stray serve and doesn't even try to apologise or check if he's okay.
47	* NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning: Ron Roth's cellphone rings in the middle of the Colt-Hammond match earning him a warning from the Court Official to turn it off.
48	* OneWordTitle: ''Wimbledon'', which the name of the tennis tournament the characters are competing in.
49	* OpposingSportsTeam: While both Peter and Lizzie face several opponents during the tournament, only two are given characterization:
50	** Dieter Prohl, a German tennis player and OldFriend of Peter from previous tournaments and they end up facing each other. Peter worries the game might hurt their friendship, but Dieter doesn't hold a grudge even after losing badly.
51	** Jake Hammond, Peter's final opponent, is the only to be given characterization. And to contrast to English underdog Peter, Hammond is an arrogant [[{{Eagleland}} Amercian]] and the 1st ranked tennis player in the world.
52	* PassionateSportsGirl: Lizzie, indeed. It is stated by commentators that she has a reputation for arguing with chair umpires and the viewer is given an example of such during one of her matches.
53	* ThePowerOfLove: [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, when Lizzie shows up at the finals after her definitive LoveEpiphany, Peter is losing ''badly''. But thanks to her presence, he get pumped up enough for an HeroicSecondWind and win.]]
54	* PrimalScene: Peter comes home and starts to hear sex noises coming from a room. Imagining it's his brother Carl watching porn, he comes in and it's horrified to catch his parents on the act.
55	* ReallyGetsAround: Lizzie has a very casual view on sex, and tells Peter she likes having sex before big matches to "relax". Hammond attempts SlutShaming her, but Peter punches him before he can even finish it.
56	* RunningGag: People mistaking Peter as the once 17th ranked player in the world, while he keeps insisting he was 11th.
57	* SexGoddess: The movie in general has a few jokes about how the great stamina of tennis players makes them into {{Sex God}}s, but Lizzie herself seems to prove it, as she brags about giving a "workout" to Peter and he feels utterly exhausted the next day after she kept him up all night.
58	* SexyDiscretionShot: The scene always cuts away whenever Peter and Lizzie sleep together, coming back to them in bed or in an obvious state of disarray.
59	* ShowerOfAwkward: Due to a room-key mix-up, Peter ends up [[AccidentalPervert accidentally walking in]] on Lizzie [[ShowerScene right as she's showering]]. However, she takes it rather calmly and just points him towards the exit.
60	* SmoothTalkingTalentAgent: Ron, Peter's old agent dropped like a fly when he started losing, and tries to weasel his way back as if nothing happened once Peter starts winning again. Peter doesn't fall for his faux-friendly attitude.
61	* SportsDad: Lizzie's father Dennis disapproves of her relationship with Peter, or any other man really, because it will distract her from her career and deliberately attempts to sabotage their relationship to protect her. As it turns out, [[JerkassHasAPoint he's not totally wrong]], as she does end up losing a game after staying up all night with Peter.
62	* TheTease: Lizzie enjoys riling up Peter.
63	-->''[Lizzie and Peter are having a completion about hitting cans and Peter is getting ready to shoot]''\
64	'''Lizzie:''' Hit this one, and I'll sleep with you.\
65	'''Peter:''' ''[suddenly trips and the ball hits an official]''\
66	'''Lizzie:''' Too bad. You could've used the workout.
67	* UnderdogsNeverLose: Peter's tennis career has been going downwards for years and he's planning to make this his final Wimbledon, which he never managed to win before. Naturally, this new underdog status makes him perform better than ever [[spoiler: and he ends up winning in the end]].
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Context Film / Wimbledon