I don't know if it's just me, but I really think that the whole romantic-comedy movie genre is getting a bit tiring.

Whereas in the past, movies such as When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless In Seattle -- no you don't need Meg Ryan to make a successful romantic comedy, as even she has been slipping lately -- worked, lately the formula has been slipping up. Especially on the teenager front, where movies like Wimbledon, with Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany, can certainly be placed.

Maybe those two previous examples -- since they did come out near the genre's inception -- had a freshness that has gone stale over time. But I'd really like to think that it wasn't merely freshness, but rather a concept that believed in itself and possessed a lot of heart. These two films involved the audience and stitched themselves into our minds for some time after the credits rolled.

With Wimbledon, I don't think I even recalled the main character's names after getting back from the screening. It's sad, but very true, and it is the state of the romantic comedy in this day in age.

I really didn't have enough time to immerse myself in Lizzie Bradbury's (Dunst) and Peter Colt's (Bettany) whirlwind tennis romance -- probably because it was truly whirlwind. After they meet, there is no time wasted in basically laying out the entire film for the audience. There are no surprises. These two will fall in love and everything will be great. Typical romantic comedy stuff, and something that should be played around with creatively very soon.

I'm not sure I bought the scenes that featured the two leads walking around Britain completely engaged in one another, as if it were a relationship with depth. Maybe something else occurred off-camera, but to me it appeared as if this were the second date.

Around those parts, however, were some visually adept tennis matches that surprised me with their dynamic and realistic choreography. To his credit, director Richard Loncraine uses some interesting camera tactics, sometimes even giving viewers the tennis ball's point of view. It was during these scenes that I forgot about the formulaic romance surrounding the two characters.

I also enjoyed the performances of Peter's parents, played by Bernard Hill and Eleanor Bron. These two stole some of the funniest scenes in the movie away from the two leads, who in turn could use a little help with their comedic skills. This could be a possible solution to the movie's blandness, but I don't think that would cover it.

The sooner that actors, actresses, directors and producers figure out that making a successful romantic comedy requires more than taking two beautiful people of the moment and sticking them with a mechanical script, the better.

Not only would this make for a better movie, it also just might allow the audience to care about something or someone they have seen on screen again. Let's hope that it happens soon.