Simply put, Anna is impressive, but this DVD doesn't quite match up. With a run time of only 42 minutes, there's still enough to see of the most alluring woman in pro tennis, and the video is moderately satisfying overall. This being a project for the 2003 Anna Kournikova Calendar, the nearest thing I can compare it to is one of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit videos, but with maybe a step down in overall production quality. Problems: the soundtrack was mildly annoying (i.e., loud), and there was nothing about any of the commentary that was intriguing. The DVD "extras" are unexciting. I watched it once, but am not dying to watch it again.
Yes, Anna's good looks can certainly put a tear in the eye of a straight guy, and the camera work here is acceptable, although not as sharp as I had hoped (give it a B+). I happen to think this girl is a knockout in Hollywood evening attire, but because this photo shoot took place in Mexico, Anna's wardrobe consisted primarily of cowgirl outfits (Russian girl meets ranchero, cute) and swimsuits. Fair enough. Somewhat of a problem was the soundtrack; not the music itself (mainly south of the border tunes), but with a volume level that had the unfortunate effect of drowning out some of the dialog at times. I also noticed that the mariachi ensemble was dubbed over with songs that didn't relate to what the band was playing. As for the commentary, it was kind of drab: Anna's "if you're confident, you can be beautiful" revelations mixed with photographer Bill Ling's "Anna has model qualities" praise.
Most of the DVD extras were disappointing in that they consisted of short replays lifted from the feature (not really "extra" if you think about it). In one of the bonus tracks (4 minutes), you can watch Anna play a dozen tennis points recorded from an exhibition match versus Conchita Martinez which took place in Zaragosa, Spain, in December of 2002. Anna wins all the points, either by groundstroke winner or cleverly angled volleys, but, if I'm correct about the match, it was a 6-3, 7-5 Martinez win.
Overall, this is a halfway decent DVD, worth watching once, maybe twice.
