Battle of the Sexes

Score:  A

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Starring Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Bill Pullman
Running time:  121 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Battle of the Sexes is based on the famous tennis duel between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, and serves as a drama with real life topicality along with a healthy dose of humor.  Emma Stone and Steve Carell are both excellent as expected, pulling their characters' rivalry far beyond a simple battle of women's rights versus male chauvinism.  Come for a high-quality, affecting film that keeps you entertained throughout: recommended to all.


In 1973, Billie Jean King (Stone) was the top American woman tennis player, serving as a leader for a close-knit group of her countrywomen.  Even as the women's game was rising in popularity (and financial success), the leaders of tennis' organizing bodies like Jack Kramer (Pullman) refused to increase women players' pay to anything close to the men's.  King thus formed the first women's tennis association.  As King and the others traveled to tournaments, struggling to stay afloat, she met and found herself attracted to a hairdresser named Marilyn (Riseborough), despite being married.  Retired but frustrated and addicted to the excitement of his playing days, Bobby Riggs (Carell) pulled the media stunt of challenging the top women's player, Margaret Court, to a match.  The public response, as well as tennis patriarchy's, to his victory compelled King to challenge Riggs to another match; with the media spotlight even brighter this time, the outcome promised to have ramifications far beyond the tennis court.

Battle of the Sexes features an excellent cast, bringing the historical drama to life with both tension and humor.  Emma Stone leads the way as Billie Jean King, a strong and committed athlete and leader who nonetheless faces daunting challenges both on and off the court.  Stone, one of the most talented actresses today, makes the character more than just an important symbol.  She is believable, both physically and in her demeanor, as a premier athlete, and shows King's powerful force of will and determination.  Yet she also convincingly shows King's struggles, and the way that what happens on the court and off the court affect each other.  Carell is able to bring his considerable talents for both comedy and drama to bear in his role as Bobby Riggs.  Riggs is, well, quite a character, from horsing around with his son to showboating on the tennis court.  The film also depicts Riggs genuine struggles, both in his relationships and his obsessions with attention and excitement, and Carell makes him actually somewhat sympathetic through this.  Among the supporting roles, Bill Pullman as the ATP director and Andrea Riseborough as King's lover are the most significant and both do quite well, helping to increase the impact of the different forces pulling on King.

Battle of the Sexes is a very well-made historical drama, effectively mixing important themes and character drama with comedy to make for an entertaining and affecting film.  The film is not shy about confronting major topics surrounding King and her match with Riggs - namely, the challenges faced by women athletes and gays (King being both) - but it gets its important points across without disrupting the dramatic narrative; in fact, they drive much of the drama quite naturally.  One could argue that the film doesn't go quite far enough with either issue, but I think that both fit well with the tone of the film which calls for at least somewhat of a light touch.  This other facet, the more straightforward entertainment, is achieved through the camaraderie of the women tennis players, and perhaps even more so with Riggs' antics (even if it creates some friction as you find yourself laughing with the "bad guy").  Riggs goes so far over the top - including practicing dressed as Little Bo Peep complete with sheep roaming the court - that even King rolls her eyes and laughs.  It's the tension created between the symbolic importance of the match (can women "compete" with men?) and the ludicrousness of the event that makes the film so compelling.  Finally, I'll point out that they show enough of the sport to give you context and add extra drama to the climactic match, but little enough that it came off more as a regular drama than a sports drama (great accomplishment in my book).

***

Battle of the Sexes is in the Oscars conversation at the moment, and for good reason.  I could certainly see this going up for Best Picture, with its great mixture of quality, important issues and entertainment value, not to mention perhaps Best Actress consideration for Emma Stone.  The film does seem just a bit overlong, dragging in a few places.  While the style of the film is perfectly appropriate for the story, it also holds it back from being considered among the very greatest dramas. That's nit-picking, though: this is highly recommended for any adult, and in particular, of course, fans of tennis, Emma Stone, and/or Steve Carell.  Well worth a trip to the theater to see this one.



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