Review of Battle of the Sexes (2017) by Clem A — 13 Oct 2017

BATTLE OF THE SEXES-2017(PG-13)-Oct. 13.

By:Clem The Movie Guy.

Battle of the Sexes is based on the true story of Billie Jean King?s initiation of the struggle for equal compensation for professional women tennis players. Set in 1973, Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) was the world?s number one ranked woman tennis player, winning multiple titles on the court, while competing in the male dominated sport but as with other prominent women tennis players receiving neither respect or prize money equal to the male players in the sport. As a testament to their demand for equality, Billie Jean & the many other women pro players left the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) to form the Women's Tennis Association. Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), a somewhat chauvinistic, washed-up tennis player with a serious gambling problem, sees an opportunity revive his own career & upstage the struggle for equality by challenging King to a ?Battle of the Sexes? with a $100,000 prize. At first, Billie Jean doesn?t want anything to do with Riggs. Off-court she is also struggling to come to terms with her sexuality & an unexpected attraction to hairdresser Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough) despite being married to good-hearted promoter Larry King (Austin Stowell). However, after witnessing Riggs humiliate fellow tennis player Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee) in a match the media called ?Mother?s Day Massacre,? King fully appreciates the damage Riggs is doing to the struggle for equality & accepts his challenge. The match becomes a media circus that will result in an historic event in the tennis world. Battle of the Sexes is directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris from screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, who have served up an inspiring & crowd-pleasing story that shows how one iconic match changed the tennis world forever. Along with Emma Stone & Steve Carell, the cast also features Bill Pullman as tennis director Jack Kramer, Elisabeth Shue as Priscilla Wheelan (Riggs?s wife), Sarah Silverman as World Tennis magazine founder Gladys Heldman, & Alan Cumming as Ted Tinling (Billie Jean?s fashion designer/close friend). The performances from the cast were captivating & I wouldn?t be surprised to see Emma Stone & Steve Carell getting some award consideration. If you want a feel-good film that has the audience applauding then Battle of the Sexes is the film for you. SEE THIS FILM.