The 54th film in my 100 film challenge in 7 Days In Hell. Technically not a feature film, but a one off TV movie. I thought I’d add this one into the list anyway. It was certainly a curious comedy – it’s not everyday you sit down and watch a spoof on professional tennis.
I was drawn to watching 7 days in Hell for two reasons. Andy Samberg is the main one, as I love much of his work – especially Hot Rod and Brooklyn 99. The second reason was that Kit Harrington, of Game of Thrones fame, was taking a leap into comedy. Things could get interesting.
Things start off well in this documentary style comedy about a legendary tennis match that happened at Wimbledon which ended up lasting 7 days. At the beginning we get the background of the two players, and its where we find some of the funniest content. I especially loved the fact that Samberg’s character was an adopted Williams sibling – truly brilliant. Interviews with people like Serena Williams an John McEnroe add a lot too.
Unfortunately the comedy strays into relying in crude and over-the-top humour, some will love that but I found somewhat tiresome. I know comedies delve into the world of ridiculous but here it doesn’t quite work. The two leads are good in their roles and Harrington can clearly do comedy, but overall things are just a bit too silly for me. The ending is just stupid.
It’s not a train-wreck, but it’s not great. This entry has highlighted to me that I haven’t had any other entries so far that are from the sports genre. Perhaps I will rectify this soon!
Watch this space…
Dan at the Movies 