It is very strange and unfortunate that a subject about sexism was covered in the spotlight almost 45 years ago because the topic sheds a light on today's society surrounding the news of what is going on, especially in Hollywood. I will not discuss too much on today's news that you have may not have read or heard from the Internet but I have to say the allegations are certainly appalling. But, back then, it seems to become lighter but start a new wave of equality and/or women's rights that took the nation by storm a little bit at a time before the media highlights the "friendly rivalry" between two tennis competitors, male and female. In that case, it was the infamous Battle of the Sexes tennis match. I did read it on before and it was interesting so I was curious about the movie more so because of the cast. Even though I was impressed by the performances by both lead performers, the movie could have been better but I still think it is a solid effort from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine.
In 1973, Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) is at the apex of her career as she is celebrated as being the number one player in tennis. She has the life as she is married to her husband, Larry (Austin Stowell). However, times are changing for the worse for her as her manager, Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman) gives Billie Jean the news that Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman) is going to prevent females from not playing in the Pacific Southwest Open because of ratings as audiences watch male tennis players compete. Billie Jean decides that she will attempt to host a tournament for females. Even though they attempt to boycott Jack Kramer, Billie Jean's efforts do not work as she and her fellow female competitors are kicked out of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.
Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), a male tennis competitor, lives with his wife, Priscilla (Elisabeth Shue) and his son Bobby Jr. as he has problems with gambling. He is forced to attend a support group for gamblers as he takes over the sessions and accuses the attendees of being terrible gamblers. Meanwhile, Billie Jean is having a relationship with her hairdresser, Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough), without her husband knowing, as Bobby phones Billie Jean to propose a $100,000 challenge for a man and woman to playing against one another. She declines his offer. However, after Bobby beats Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee) in a dominant match, Billie Jean decides it is enough and takes up his challenge.
I am in the minority on this because the movie was praised when released a little over 10 years ago but I was not a fan of Little Miss Sunshine even though I admired the screenwriters' and directors' spirit. It was overrated and it was such a simplistic story with humor that did not work for me as much. But, director Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris do a great job capturing the atmosphere of the 1970s as at times I watching footage from the events of when this match occurred and also a behind-the-scenes look of the start of women's rights and probably the LGBQT community from the point of view on the women's side.
However, the movie is shaky in its first half as the narrative switches from Billie Jean's story to Bobby's story that is somehow not coherent in which the movie switches from a political angle of fighting for women's rights to a somewhat dark comedy/drama which Bobby is struggling with his gambling addiction. It felt like that the editing was not on par and that the directors did not what kind of rhythm they are getting with their material. Plus, we did not get much build-up to Bobby's first offer to King to play against him, he simply asks her. In the true story, he believed that female players were inferior to male players and we did not see as much frankness on his side. It is more of the script's fault to making his character more soft in the movie in contrast to his real personality.
The movie really belongs to Emma Stone as her performance is captivating and transports herself back in time as Billie Jean King with such ferocity and passion. However, she is subtle in her ferocity and passion and she does not become over-the-top in her performance as King. Steve Carrell plays jerks real well like his performance in The Way Way Back or in TV in The Office. It is not his fault that his character was more soft but his performance as a haughty party-pooper taunting all the females around the world is somewhat a metaphor to today's society and you can argue that. Andrea Riseborough gives a good performance as King's partner. I liked Sarah Silverman's performance surprisingly and I thought she fit well in that era. Natalie Morales gives a nice supporting performance too as one of the female tennis performers. I did not like how Simon Beaufoy, the screenwriter, wrote Jack Kramer or even Alan Cummings' character. They felt like stereotypes to me.
The core of the movie is the tennis match and it is shot well and they were cautious of the angles because of Emma Stone's and Steve Carell's stunt doubles playing the match or capturing that event. This is a rare movie in which the movie picks up in its second half as Bobby Riggs comes into the picture as Billie Jean King has to balance her preparation for the match and also with her sexuality and marriage. I felt like the latter needed exploring more because we see more mood than verbal action in the politics. It is a close call and even though I am disappointed by the overall result, the movie is a crowd-pleaser that parallels to the present and also it have a great performance by Stone and a good performance by Carell. I am recommending it marginally.
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