Wimbledon

(Herald rating * *)

Neatly timed to arrive here just after our annual fortnight of third-rate tennis tournaments and during the first-rate Aussie Open, this love match comes from the set that served up Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill. Which pretty much tells you what you'll receive.

Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander) plays Peter Colt, a British pro who has one last chance of winning Wimbledon (and no one is supposed to say the words "Tim Henman" at this point). Colt was promising, even got to No 11 in the world, but his ranking has dropped to some place where he might fancy his chances against a NZ Davis Cup player.

About to quit playing and take up coaching, he gains a wild card entry to Wimbledon and says it will be his final tournament. On the eve of the championship, he bumps into US brat Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), and the two are soon playing what we will genteely call "mixed doubles".

Lizzie's game goes downhill, much to the annoyance of her control-freak tennis dad (Sam Neill) while Colt finds himself bounding through the tournament.

You don't need to know any more about the story because if you liked Four Weddings and Notting Hill, you'll have made a note to rent this one. Even without Hugh Grant.

The DVD includes the usual commentary track with Bettany and director Richard Loncraine, features on the tournament and its organisers, the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, and "Ball Control", which shows the technical side of the production and the physical input required of the stars.

DVD, video rental out now