Battle of the Sexes Review

PG13: some sexual content and partial nudity 

Fox Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment 

2 Hrs and 3 Minutes

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Writer: Simon Beaufoy

Cast Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Eric Christian Olsen

INTRO: Recently, Billie Jean King came to my job for an interview to promote this movie. While I was running mics for the next show, she was departing while Micheal Peña was arriving. I was watching their interaction through the outside glass door window, and it was cute. Then as they finished, Billie Jean looked at me through the door, waved at me, then blew me a kiss. I was shaking then and I after watching this biopic, I will treasure that blown kiss for the rest of my life.

In the wake of the sexual revolution and the rise of the women's movement, the 1973 tennis match between women's world champion Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-men's-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the BATTLE OF THE SEXES and became one of the most watched televised sports events of all time, reaching 90 million viewers around the world. As the rivalry between King and Riggs kicked into high gear, off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. The fiercely private King was not only championing for equality, but also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, as her friendship with Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough) developed. And Riggs, one of the first self-made media-age celebrities, wrestled with his gambling demons, at the expense of his family and wife Priscilla (Elisabeth Shue). Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis court, sparking discussions in bedrooms. 

THE GOOD

LITTLE TENNIS SUNSHINE

The movie isn’t much "Battle of the Sexes" as it is more focused on King and Riggs' lives during 1972 as every event leads up to the match. You have King going through an awakening with her sexuality while she and several female players tour the country playing matches through the WTA and Riggs trying to find a way to be relevant again. Before it gets to its last act, the film is nearly 70% Billie Jean King and 30% Bobby Riggs. 

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (directors of Little Miss Sunshine) do an excellent job not only expressing their cast of comedic actors deliver fine performances as dramatic actors. The majority of the film’s humor comes from Carell for his outlandish personality, but his depiction as Riggs is more complex than he seems to be.

While King is going through her sexual self-discovery, her husband, Larry King, quickly picks up the clues and for a surprise gives her space. In other movies, you would have a confrontation scene, but this avoids that type of cliché to depict his love for Billie Jean. You don’t see choices like that in modern cinema, and that’s one of the best aspects of this movie. You have these characters who are all likable and mean well. Though a majority of the males in the film are misogynists, their motives are clear, and you understand each decision they make. 
 

WHAT A TIME TO BE AN ACTOR

If ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was released a decade ago, I would've considered this is one of the best movies of all time.  You have a long list of comedic actors who have either starred in SNL or other comedy series. You have actors such as Steve Carell, Fred Armisen, Sarah Silverman, and even Chris Parnell. The film has Chris Parnell for a brief second as he plays a radio host because Parnell has one of the most soothing voices out there. Shoot I’m going to throw in Emma Stone’s name in there because at the time the only thing she was known for was ‘Superbad.’ Now it's 2017 and so much time has passed to the point that Carell has been nominated for an Oscar, Stone won an Oscar, and other actors have been in dramatic roles that demonstrate the expansion of range that they have. It’s a remarkable ensemble they have here and provide great performances to deliver this inspirational story.

WELCOME TO THE 70s

The cinematography for this is outstanding. Right from the opening logos, you feel as if you’ve been transported back to 1972 as not only does this film takes place then, but the picture quality seems to capture the essence of the time. It's great considering this is the same cinematographer of ‘American Hustle, La La Land, and Joy which were films that captured the look of the decade the film took place in. Even though La La Land was set in modern day, the motion-picture photography had a nostalgic 1950s look to it as well. So whenever Linus Sandgren is the D.P of a period piece, make sure to get put into a time capsule.

Besides Sandgren's camerawork, every dept from post-production to production design to even hair & makeup try their best to make you feel like you are in this era. This is one of those films where I’m looking at everyone’s costume and hairstyle just being mesmerized with how good they look mainly because it reflects the time perfectly. The film even utilizes news segments that embrace the style of filmmaking during that period from the lousy green screen to the font because of the authenticity of the footage as it plays like an old VHS tape.

BATTLE OF THE GREAT PERFORMANCES

It is terrifying how similar Emma Stone resembles the actual Billie Jean King in her physicality. It goes without saying how amazing Stone is in this movie, for she is the primary focus of it all and delivers a performance as compelling as her performance in Birdman (which is saying a lot).  With everything King goes through, you root for her every step of the way. I’ll tell you this when the film reaches its climax; I have never been so invested and at the edge of my seat while watching a tennis match in a film.

Carell gives a wonderfully energetic performance with a gratifying amount of charisma from beginning to end. Bobby is an opportunist at heart with a terrible addiction to gambling. It's not even bad for him but for whoever he gambles against for he always wins. At first, Bobby Riggs isn’t presented much as a misogynist but more of an attention whore who can put his money where his mouth is. This man is one of the all-stars of tennis who was the world’s #1 player in the 50s. He may not take things seriously and acts like a clown, but he can both bark and bite when it's on the court. I mean until a certain point he becomes an unlikable asshole, but at the same time, he is an entertaining joy to watch.

THE BAD

While the element of Billie Jean King coming out of the closet is a great addition to the story to develop her character, there are a numerous amount of cheesy dialogue and predictability with the plot itself.

LAST STATEMENT

Battle of the Sexes is an entertainingly inspirational biopic that works through the charm & performances of the cast and stylistic filmmaking. It's an underdog narrative that takes enough original routes to make it stand out on its own as one of the best sports movies of the decade (and best Tennis movie of all time).

Rating: 4.5/5 | 91%

Super Scene: King V. Bobby / the aftermath