Review of Battle of the Sexes (2017) by Movie M — 14 Oct 2017

Reviewed 10.5.17. On the surface it's pretty thin source material for a full length feature. Thankfully the filler is the best part. With the real life match having lacked an exciting conclusion, and the headline plot lacking serious stakes (I mean, someone would have eventually beaten him), it is instead a story about the woman/women of that moment.

And that, thankfully, makes for much deeper and rewarding viewing. It's basically a biopic snapshot into the life of Billie Jean King, during the Spring & Summer of 1973. Hard to imagine that during that short time span she started a new women's league, went through the circus of the Battle of the Sexes, and also happened to discover she was gay.

But of well, Hollywood can have a pass this time. All three story lines dove together nicely. Remove any of them, and the movie would fall flat. And without Emma Stone inhabiting BJK, and Steve Carell creating a palatable version of Riggs, it'd be likewise DOA.

Instead, the half cooked subplots and supporting characters aside, there's enough here to hold serve.