Review of Battle of the Sexes (2017) by Lemon D — 22 Aug 2018

The BJK and Bobby Riggs characters are nicely cast while their work is consistent, especially with Carell's performance! The biopic story was fun in places, and the drama mostly heartfelt, but something ultimately felt missing. A great documentary should fill in the gaps for those, like myself, interested in this real-life tennis legend, and eventual champion of LGBTQ rights.

While the lesbian interactions were sincere, they were not as interesting as how Billie Jean King - the PERSON, the ATHLETE - worked her way up, with the discipline and dedication found in the greatest athletes (and winners) of all time...without dwelling on their sex life, or supposed controversial affairs. In fact, her orientation would not be embraced or discussed openly for many years. The film seemed to give more time to the brief affair than the depth of what made her REALLY tick with endurance - that which made the world take notice, drove her husband to remain a staunch supporter, while she appreciated his involvement for years...not the tabloid gossip of that time. As it was, Larry King was a 'cardboard cutout' character, when powerful interactions and dialogue could have been amazing between the characters. The interactions of Bobby Grigs with his wife (an effective Elisabeth Shue) were more revealing and moving.

Why overly focus on someone's orientation when there is so much more to the legendary story they're telling? We generally don't dwell on a straight person's orientation to share their incredible, unrelated (non-sexual) stories of success. If the filmmakers wanted the focus to be about BJK's orientation, coming out, and LGBTQ work, then the film should have focused on THAT aspect. Instead, it was going for the story of her continued rise to fame via the 'Battle of the Sexes' tournament. We barely understood her motivations and marriage/relationship with Larry - which would be ongoing for years after this time period, and there was little closure about the impactful hairdresser.

Within the screenplay, Billie Jean King's "hero's journey" was barely initiated with regard to her sexual orientation; allowing the greatest satisfaction to come from the tennis match with Bobby Riggs. Consequently, the story felt strangely self-conscious along the way and somewhat truncated by the end. I still enjoyed it, as a one-time viewing, but I'll head onto Bing or YouTube to learn more about the fantastic BJK. :) -Aug. 24, 2018.

EDIT | According to BJK: " In his final days, [Bobby] Riggs remained in friendly contact with Billie Jean King, and King phoned him often. She called him shortly before his death, offering to visit him, but he did not want her to see him in his condition. She phoned him one last time, the night before his death and, according to King in an HBO documentary about her, the last thing she told Riggs was 'I love you.' ".

Wow. That speaks to character...in both of them.