Battle of the Sexes stars Hollywood heavyweights Emma Stone and Steve Carrell, and recounts the huge "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match and key events leading up to it. Stone plays Billy Jean King, a brilliant tennis player that is sick and tired of women not being respected as equals. Carrell plays Bobby Riggs, a former superstar, now gambling addict, who doesn't think women should be considered on the same level as men. Obviously their ideals butt heads and from that we get the story of this movie.
The movie begins with King and a group of other female tennis players forming their own association after a big tournament has them being paid 1/8 of what the men are getting. As their association grows, so does a scandalous relationship. As if being a strong willed female athlete at this time wasn't hard enough, King is also hiding a same-sex relationship with a hairdresser, while married to a man. Then comes Bobby Riggs, who first defeats another highly ranked women's tennis player, then challenges King, all to prove that men are superior.
As always, Stone is amazing in her role. Her costume, makeup and hair all make her unrecognizable, making her performance seem even more real. The way she portrays the confidence but also hardships of Billy Jean King is a joy to watch. However, I think the film may benefit by including one or two really emotional scenes, adding to the drama of the big match, especially since we know Stone could pull that off. Carrell's performance is also on point - perfectly embodying Riggs. Seriously, it's a little hard to tell the two apart at times, he does such a great job. Andrea Riseborough performs a great supporting role as Marilyn, Billy Jean's lover. She has a very free vibe as she does mostly whatever she wants - a good contrast to King. This film also features a slew of under appreciated actors in small roles. Sarah Silverman plays King's manager and steals a lot of scenes she's in. She hits the mark perfectly as a sassy manager and I wouldn't be surprised if she could pull off that job in real life. Bill Pullman plays Jack Kramer, a misogynistic tennis announcer that stirs up a lot of issues with King. His performance lends a cool and calm demeanor while also being a total jackass. Alan Cumming plays all of the tennis players' stylist and while not in much of the movie has a very uplifting scene towards the end of the film that I enjoyed. Martha MacIsaac is also in this film. She played Becca in 2007's Superbad and hasn't been in many big films since. While she doesn't have a lot of screen time it was still nice to see her in this film and I think she did a solid job despite her small role. I will say despite all of this talent, my favourite character in the film was King's husband Larry, played by Austin Stowell. His character brings an interesting dynamic as he finds out his wife is cheating, but still stands by to support her. His ability to always keep her career in mind was really interesting and surprising.
The story is where I start to have an issue with this film. The overall plot is great, and the script is written well enough to keep me interested and entertained. However, there are a multitude of things left underdeveloped. The relationship between Billy Jean and Marilyn is well acted but rushed way too much. We aren't allowed to see their bond build before they are together and it caused me to be less invested in their relationship. Bobby Riggs is underdeveloped in nearly every way. There is almost no focus on Riggs throughout the first act, leaving us with very little information about him other than his gambling addiction and that he was a has-been tennis star. No reason is even really developed for him to want to play King, he just sort of decides to be a misogynist pig in the middle of the film. Character development issues like this plague the movie and take away from it quite a bit. I will say however, that the performances and direction do enough to make up for this. The final tennis match is so well shot that I almost clapped a few times when King scored. The tennis scenes were great and I think the two directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, as well as their set and costume designers did a superb job capturing the era.
Overall, I'd say the main issues in this film come in the writing department. I think if more time was added to developing the film's characters and relationships we could have a great movie on our hands. However, we don't have that extra time and are left with a solid sports movie. I expected more from this film, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit and I'd say people should check it out.
Rating: 3.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
The movie begins with King and a group of other female tennis players forming their own association after a big tournament has them being paid 1/8 of what the men are getting. As their association grows, so does a scandalous relationship. As if being a strong willed female athlete at this time wasn't hard enough, King is also hiding a same-sex relationship with a hairdresser, while married to a man. Then comes Bobby Riggs, who first defeats another highly ranked women's tennis player, then challenges King, all to prove that men are superior.
As always, Stone is amazing in her role. Her costume, makeup and hair all make her unrecognizable, making her performance seem even more real. The way she portrays the confidence but also hardships of Billy Jean King is a joy to watch. However, I think the film may benefit by including one or two really emotional scenes, adding to the drama of the big match, especially since we know Stone could pull that off. Carrell's performance is also on point - perfectly embodying Riggs. Seriously, it's a little hard to tell the two apart at times, he does such a great job. Andrea Riseborough performs a great supporting role as Marilyn, Billy Jean's lover. She has a very free vibe as she does mostly whatever she wants - a good contrast to King. This film also features a slew of under appreciated actors in small roles. Sarah Silverman plays King's manager and steals a lot of scenes she's in. She hits the mark perfectly as a sassy manager and I wouldn't be surprised if she could pull off that job in real life. Bill Pullman plays Jack Kramer, a misogynistic tennis announcer that stirs up a lot of issues with King. His performance lends a cool and calm demeanor while also being a total jackass. Alan Cumming plays all of the tennis players' stylist and while not in much of the movie has a very uplifting scene towards the end of the film that I enjoyed. Martha MacIsaac is also in this film. She played Becca in 2007's Superbad and hasn't been in many big films since. While she doesn't have a lot of screen time it was still nice to see her in this film and I think she did a solid job despite her small role. I will say despite all of this talent, my favourite character in the film was King's husband Larry, played by Austin Stowell. His character brings an interesting dynamic as he finds out his wife is cheating, but still stands by to support her. His ability to always keep her career in mind was really interesting and surprising.
The story is where I start to have an issue with this film. The overall plot is great, and the script is written well enough to keep me interested and entertained. However, there are a multitude of things left underdeveloped. The relationship between Billy Jean and Marilyn is well acted but rushed way too much. We aren't allowed to see their bond build before they are together and it caused me to be less invested in their relationship. Bobby Riggs is underdeveloped in nearly every way. There is almost no focus on Riggs throughout the first act, leaving us with very little information about him other than his gambling addiction and that he was a has-been tennis star. No reason is even really developed for him to want to play King, he just sort of decides to be a misogynist pig in the middle of the film. Character development issues like this plague the movie and take away from it quite a bit. I will say however, that the performances and direction do enough to make up for this. The final tennis match is so well shot that I almost clapped a few times when King scored. The tennis scenes were great and I think the two directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, as well as their set and costume designers did a superb job capturing the era.
Overall, I'd say the main issues in this film come in the writing department. I think if more time was added to developing the film's characters and relationships we could have a great movie on our hands. However, we don't have that extra time and are left with a solid sports movie. I expected more from this film, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit and I'd say people should check it out.
Rating: 3.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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