7 Days in Hell

Tennis Hits the Books (And Sometimes Media)

A couple of weeks ago the Monday tennis news roundup post on this site referenced an article posted by tennis.com on the “best” tennis movies. I filed the titles away for those inevitable times when I don’t have the bandwidth to read a full book. I had to take a business trip this week on very short notice, so it was the perfect time to screen one of those films on my flight out. This movie… should not be viewed in a public setting where someone else can see your screen.

7 Days in Hell was released in 2015. It is a vulgar tennis mockumentary likely inspired by the Isner-Mahut marathon match at Wimbledon in 2010. Andy Samberg plays “Aaron Williams” the “bad boy of tennis” with a persona that is an apparent riff of Andre Agassi. Kit Harrington stars as “Charles Poole” who is a cross between John Lloyd and a young Roger Federer. The premise is that they play a first round match at Wimbledon that spans 7 days.

Serena Williams, John McEnroe, and Chris Evert appear in the film as themselves. They serve as commentators offering perspective of the farcical events portrayed in the film. They were all great, but really all they did was emulate what they do in real life. Their presence brought a redeeming quality to the work.

While there were some funny moments in the movie, those were overshadowed by gratuitous nudity and vulgar scenes. It is definitely not appropriate for small children or public settings. The tennis play was neither realistic or believable. That may have been a deliberate decision to enhance the mockumentary vibe.

I didn’t hate the movie and it certainly kept me entertained for part of my flight. As a bonus I got a good shoulder workout repeatedly covering my screen with my hands and fast forwarding in 10 second increments to advance past the offensive content.

HBO subscribers can stream it for free and it is also available for rent or purchase from Amazon.