Break Point

The plot is predictable. But the cast makes this movie worth watching. It had just enough tough love to balance the saccharine in the coming of age and late bloomer film.

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.

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".

I really loved this movie - its very funny and has a lot of heart. Break Point stars the very handsome Jeremy Sisto (who also wrote and produced the movie). He plays Jimmy, a foul mouthed, over the hill tennis player who wants to try for the US open. He has to convince his estranged brother Darren (David Walton) to play with him but it's not easy because years ago Jimmy dumped him as his partner. Throughout the movie the two brothers fight but somehow manage to become close on and off the court. The movie has a great supporting cast with J.K. Simmons as Jimmy and Darren's father, Amy Smart as the woman Darren is in love with, and Joshua Rush as a lonely child who befriends Darren. Break Point has a lot of really funny scenes - I laughed out loud more than once. Jeremy Sisto gives one of the best performances of his career. This is a terrific, heartwarming movie about family. I highly recommend it.

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.