‘Break Point’ Stars Jeremy Sisto, David Walton Highlight L.A. Premiere

Fret not if you don’t play tennis. You’ll easily recognize the slapstick, anxiety and bad court etiquette in the angst and tensions between two siblings overcoming their childhood rifts in Jay Karas’ directorial debut, Break Point.

The cast and crew of the film took to the red carpet Tuesday night at the TLC Chinese 6 theaters and discussed how they drew from their own experiences to make the film come to life, whether it was sibling rivalries or playing tennis in school.  

“Two people have to be in sync on the court together and in tune physically, mentally and almost telepathically,” said Karas.

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In the film, Jeremy Sisto stars as Jimmy Price, who wants one last shot at as a professional doubles tennis player at the U.S. Open. When other players avoid him like the plague, he has no choice but to resort to his childhood partner, younger brother Darren (David Walton). Ultimately, the mismatched pair is forced to reconcile their past to rediscover what it means to be partners and brothers. 

J.K. Simmons plays the siblings’ dad. “Since I had kids, playing a dad is like a slam-dunk for me. I think people before they have kids might think they have an understanding of parenthood, but once you actually have kids, there’s a level of connection that you bring to any Dad role,” the Oscar-winning actor (Whiplash) said.

Sisto helped conceive the story with screenwriter Gene Hong, who used to play tennis with Sisto’s sister. As they began volleying ideas, they realized using doubles tennis as the setting of the film would play well into the story of two brothers reconnecting. 

Other red-carpet guests from the film included Chris Parnell, Amy Smart, Joshua Rush and Daniel Hammond. After the screening, the cast celebrated at Dave & Busters, facing off in classic arcade games.

Break Point arrives in theaters and VOD on Sept. 4.