The new film Break Point is a comedic sports movie about two brothers who, despite a rocky past, team up as a doubles tennis pair to try to qualify for the US Open. The plotline is kind of like a blend between Blades of Glory and Step Brothers, in that it's athletic competition meets personal grudges meets dysfunctional family dynamics. The film stars Jeremy Sisto and David Walton as brothers Jimmy and Darren, and their on-screen chemistry is equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, making for one enjoyable film — to say the least.
"I can safely say this is the best tennis movie ever made," Walton tells Bustle.
It might seem like a lofty claim, but there's plenty of supporting evidence to back up his statement. For starters, Break Point has some seriously impressive scenes on the tennis court, complete with high-level playing, athletic-chic tennis outfits, and cameos from real tennis pros like the Bryan brothers. In addition, the film also has some amazing performances from the supporting cast, which features the likes of J.K. Simmons, Amy Smart, and Adam Devine. Walton might not be wrong in praising Break Point so highly. For one thing, the tennis scenes are seriously realistic — due to the fact that both Walton and Sisto are actually seen playing.
"I think what makes the tennis so good is that there's no CGI ball, you're just watching what we did," he says. "All the other tennis movies use CGI balls, and it just looks fake."
It was important for the playing to seem organic, and the story was molded to accommodate this; the screenwriters made the decision to have the brothers to just (spoiler alert!) qualify for the U.S. Open, not win it. This was a good thing in Walton's eyes, he says, because it made the pressure to look like a professional player less intense.
That being said, Walton and Sisto still trained extensively for the film. "Jeremy and I were like, 'we gotta make this look right,' so we started playing a ton of tennis together. We had a coach on set most of the days when we weren't shooting tennis...we worked really hard," he says.
The hard work clearly paid off; tennis pros Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish — both of whom are friends of Walton's — gave the actor their seal of approval on the realism of the tennis scenes.
It also cemented a bond between Sisto and Walton since they were spending so much time together both on the court and on-screen. Says Walton, "We got really close and we are good friends now and hang out all the time, adding that "There's always a nice bonus when you do a good movie and you get a good friend out of it too."
It's awesome that Walton and Sisto are friends in real life, and their closeness is definitely noticeable in the film, adding yet another "gold star" to the movie's report card. So regardless of how the brothers in the movie perform in the tournament, I have no doubt that Break Point is definitely a winner.
Images: Broad Green Pictures (3)
