Battle of the Sexes review

I never took the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" " tennis match between top woman's player, Billie Jean King  and has- been Bobby Riggs seriously. First, it was between a 29 year old King and a 55 year old Riggs. I was surprised that Riggs didn't have a heart attack. Second, all of the publicity before the match indicated that Riggs was part Muhammed Ali, and part circus clown. He said he was putting the "show" in chauvinist. Then you had the silly pre-match ceremonies. King was brought in on a litter carried by hunky slave men. Riggs was escorted by scantily clad women. But looking back, it was a turning point for women's tennis and the women's movement. The match does make for a fascinating story that's depicted in the film Battle of the Sexes.

The film takes place in the early seventies and starts out with Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) being informed that the prize money for the woman in an upcoming tournament would be one twelfth that of what the men's winner would get. Infuriated, King and nine women tennis players with the help of Gladys Heldmen (Sarah Silverman) form The Women's Tennis Association. The goal would be to increase the payout to women players and get some equality for the woman athlete. 

Meanwhile, over-the-hill tennis player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) is struggling with his gambling addiction and left to play on the senior circuit. The time period is also the dawn of the women's liberation movement. There were many men who felt threatened by women who wanted equality and were downright sexist when it came to women.  Riggs seizes upon the moment and challenges King to a match.  She initially declines and Riggs plays top player and homophobic tennis player Margaret Court.  (Jessica  McNamee)  He defeats her and King finally accepts the challenge for the big match.

Emma Stone turns in an excellent performance as the conflicted King.  She's fighting three battles.  One is to lead women's tennis to equality.  Then there is the match with Riggs.   The other is her burgeoning lesbianism leading to an affair with her hairdresser.  She suffers  a guilt knowing that she could hurt her husband.     It's also ironic that Court is portrayed in the film as the two in real life have had recent run-ins over homosexuality.  (Sydney Morning Herald)

The supporting actors also rise to Stone's performance.  I've watched Sarah Silverman's work as a comedian for years from Star Trek: Voyager to her stand up.   Here's she plays a tough feminist promoter for woman's tennis.  Got to love the scene where Silverman's Gladys and King barge in on a men's club.  Simply put, Steve Carell is perfectly cast.  He captures Riggs tongue in cheek personality.  His Riggs was not really a male chauvinist.  That was Riggs in real life.  I'm not saying he was a feminist but clearly he was playing the clown.  He was teasing the public while using his shtick to get one more day under the sun.  Carell  knows this and uses his comedic skills for his portrayal.

Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)'s  screenplay does a good job at capturing the events surrounding the match which was called "The Battle of the Sexes."  The slight problem here is that he has all these King plot threads.  They're interesting but Riggs also has an interesting story too.  I would have loved to see a little more of the clown.   Still, the comedy works and the movie is touching.  Also, kudos to directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) for staging some excellent tennis shots.

The King-Riggs match was a big event.  Fifty million people in the United States watched it on TV.  Thirty thousand saw it at the Astrodome making it the largest audience to watch a tennis match live.   (Wikiepedia)   As I said, it was a turning point of women's tennis.  It brought attention to the woman's game and propelled it to popularity.  As for women, the idea of equality for women was now firmly placed in the public domain.  And it was a legendary reality TV show  demonstrating how a reality TV event or reality TV star  like Trump could affect society. .  Battle of the Sexes captures the moment beautifully.  The grade is A minus.