Game, Set, Love

My main problem with this one was the casting of the male lead. He did not have an athletic build and didn't look strong like a tennis player at all. His complexion was pasty like he did not spend anytime outside on a tennis court. As an actor, he came across as cold and disinterested. While in "resting face" or not consciously making an effort, there seemed to be nothing behind his eyes.

He was too young for Davida Williams the female lead. This age mismatch was exacerbated by the characters' personalities. She was a mature educator and task master as a coach. He played a whiny entitled childish brat. Throughout. The way he treated his parents near the end was despicable and mean. This dynamic does not make for a believable romance.

I find it hard to believe that Venus Williams and Tracy Austin were associated with this production.

Beyond laughable in its representation of professional tennis. The ludicrous plot line details were so far removed from reality that we laughed through the entire comedy - except it wasn't supposed to be funny THAT way. The sequences of play action were so disjointed, it was as if they teleported across the court. The scoreboard camera shot in the final match was absolute gibberish in representing what had happened in the course of the match with the points, games, and sets won. And a mildly injured player agonizing over whether to play the FINAL match point to win? I won't even delve into the relationship plot and the lack of chemistry among the leads, who in no way sold themselves as professional athletes. If you know anything about tennis at all, watch it for either a laugh at Hallmark's expense - or to be majorly frustrated at the stupidity. Just to be clear, I enjoy Hallmark movies for pleasant entertainment. Not this embarrassment.

My son was a nationally ranked tennis player before leaving the tournament circuit to go to college. As you might imagine, I've seen countless matches, practices, and pro tournaments. Sadly, despite Venus Williams' connection as a producer, the tennis scenes in "Game, Set, Love" looked like they filmed some mediocre high school players in a gym.

Davida Williams (no relationship to Venus) plays coach Taylor and, after a clinic, she's shown working on her serve. Yikes. She gets no height on the ball, doesn't extend her body or arm up, and does little more than tap the ball across the net. And yet a woman "ranked top ten in doubles" comes up and says "killer serve" and tells a young girl that Taylor was "way better than me".

Uh, no.

Actually, that doubles player, Ashley Wong, played by Jennifer Khoe, is shown serving the ball with far better skill in a later scene. As for bad boy William Campbell (a fictional John McEnroe), played by the director's brother Richard Harmon (the 2 siblings were both in the long running sci-fi TV series " The 100") he just wasn't convincing as a tennis player. And instead of acting like the brat he was on court, he had a pleasant and affable personality that conveniently meshed with the very attractive Taylor. They had some fun banter and Willam actually had an insightful line about tennis player parents. When referring to the parents of the kids that Taylor coached, he called them "a bunch of people who put all their baggage and expectations onto their kids". I saw a lot of that. And I was probably guilty of that a bit myself.

But there were some weird moments. Why were they playing in the rain?? That's generally frowned on because of safety issues, shoe traction problems, and heavier wet balls that don't reflect match conditions. And during 12 years of tennis clinics, lessons, and matches, my son never once played in the rain.

Also, the big "Georgia Sun" tournament was likely a fake version of the Atlanta Open, which doesn't have mixed doubles. And even if it did, there wouldn't be TV coverage of it, let alone Tracy Austin.

Another reviewer commented about the scoreboard which inexplicably indicated that the "previous sets" were 4-2 and that the total "sets" were 3-1, games 2-1. Later, the scoreboard indicated that the "previous sets" were 4-6, 7-5, and 6-6 and that the total "sets" were 6-4, games 5-5. Huh?

The relationship between Taylor and her father was sweet, but the conflict between William and his parents didn't ring true. A player of William's stature doesn't get there without lots of parental emotional and financial support. And yet the father wanted him to join the restaurant business rather than play tennis? Really?

But I did buy the growing attraction between Taylor and William, and I loved the Lake House.

But the movie became all about their success on the court rather than off it. And the tennis just didn't seem remotely authentic. In fairness, sports movies are hard to do. They often seem fake unless there's a big budget. Wimbledon was a great tennis movie. This was not. But Hallmark did make at least one decent sport movie. Love on the Sidelines succeeded because it focused more on the off the field action. That's what they should have done here.

Hallmark doesn't do this kind of movie often where a sporting event dominates the story. They do plenty of contests, but this kind of sports movie has a different feel from most of the others by its nature. This one follows the pattern you would expect with a slight twist almost at the last minute.

There was some mild chemistry between Davida Williams and Richard Harmon. The acting was OK. The dialogue had a few good moments but was mostly average. Some sets were almost cheesy since the training facility looked more elaborate than the tournament itself.

There is almost always an aspect where each of the lead couple encourage the other to be a better person. William was supposed to be a John McEnroe type with uncontrollable anger issues, but after we actually meet him, there isn't much of that.

There were lots of Tennis scenes including some coaching of youth players but otherwise the story was pretty simple.

Probably the least believable tennis movie I've seen. I did expect a bit specially the game scenes as this was co-produced by Venus Williams but was let down with how it played out. My biggest issue with this is you're somehow supposed to convince me Richard Harmon with his very white skin and small build is a pro tennis player? Pro tennis players who generally have ridiculously jacked thighs and arms and olive skin tone from playing in the sun? His acting all throughout the movie was also a really big problem as I find it a bit too disinterested, I get that he is the 'bad boy' of tennis (😂) but I think there's a difference between a hard headed character and a bored actor. I also wasn't convinced about the chemistry between the two actors, a Hallmark movie should be bursting with cheesiness and emotions and this one just felt too flat.