Break Point (2014)
Jimmy Price is a reckless man-child on the last leg of his career as a doubles tennis player. When his latest partner drops him, he realizes he's officially burned all of his bridges on the pro circuit. He decides to make one last ditch effort to revive his career, reaching outside of the tennis world and convincing his childhood partner -- his estranged brother Darren, now an apathetic substitute teacher - to team up with him. The mismatched pair, with the help of a unique 11-year-old named Barry, make an unlikely run at a grand slam tournament and are forced to re-discover their game, and their brotherhood.
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Perfect cast and a good story
Fantastic!
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Jimmy Price (Jeremy Sisto) is a tennis player on his last legs. He antagonizes everybody including his doubles partner. He needs a new partner. His veterinary father Jack (J.K. Simmons) suggests his younger brother Darren (David Walton) despite double-crossing him when they were younger. Darren is a substitute teacher who is befriended by a clingy boy named Barry. Darren is taken with Jack's assistant Heather (Amy Smart) who has boyfriend Gary. Barry opines, "Our names rhyme. It's mildly amusing". One gets the feeling that this was written as a wacky comedy but it's at best mildly amusing. Neither Sisto nor Walton are outright comedians although they sometimes do comedic acting. In this one, they don't really try that hard. The lines are sometimes there but the delivery is flat. I keep thinking this is a Will Ferrell comedy without Will Ferrell. It might be better to go darker and more serious with the story. Or just give it to Ferrell for him to go completely nuts.
One thing is for sure after watching this movie. I will never watch a movie again about tennis. Tennis in real life is a little bit boring but in a movie it is an absolute disaster. Half of the movie it is just movie shots of the ball bouncing back and forth. So when it's not even a real competition it's really boring, like watching somebody practice, there is absolute no joy in that besides for the player himself. Now I thought there would be a little bit of humour in it, but even that is not good. It's the kind of humour that sometimes make you have a tiny little grin and then you hope there will be more and better. But that never happens in the whole movie. If you have absolutely nothing else to do just go out and play tennis yourself, you will be more entertained.
A great film. Just as the two brothers playing tennis way out of their league, maybe also Gene Hong (the writer) and Jay Karas (the director), who have done much more TV than movies, could have shared the same feeling. And the same could be said for David Walton (Darren), Vincent Ventresca (the great Gary) or Joshua Rush (the even greater Barry). But, believe me, this is a great film with a great cast and the above mentioned actors star greatly along with Jeremy Sisto, JK Simmons and Amy Smart.The story is funny and enjoyable, the characters are so nice you'll easily find yourself hoping for a sequel. Everything is perfect, cheering and entertaining. My kind of comedy.
Best movie about tennis & family! There's comedy. There's drama. And yes, there's tennis. Although I couldn't watch it yet with my kids due to some scenes w profanity (my 10yr old daughter who plays varsity), Im definitely going to watch it again with my wife. The characters were hilarious and likable. Its about tennis. Its about life. Its about redemption. And yet, the ending isn't something you would expect. Even non-tennis viewers would surely like. I've seen Wimbledon the movie. I've seen Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach. All of them were "okay". But none of them compares to this. Beautifully written, touching and heartwarming. Made me fall in love even more with the game. And also appreciate family, after all "Every family has its faults".