Battle of the Sexes
Thursday, September 28, 2017 5:54:33 PM | (Age Not Specified)
3 1/2 stars
“The Battle of the Sexes”, is based on the true story of the tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King. Excellent acting by Emma Stone (Billy Jean), Steve Carell (Boby Riggs), and supporting cast including Sarah Silverman (Gladys Heldman). It is incredible how much Emma Stone and Steve Carell actually look like the real characters.
This movie is really about women’s rights and equality. Women had to work hard to be taken seriously in the early 1970’s. Despite being labelled a feminist, it is interesting to note that King, was Billy Jean’s married name. During this time in her life, she struggled with her sexuality, fully aware that homosexuality was not accepted by society.
Although thoroughly entertaining and enlightening, the one major weakness of the film is that it never truly delves deep inside the characters. We do get a sense of some of the struggles they faced and how image and stereotyping were the norm. The side story of her arch nemesis, Margaret Court is only touched upon but can be a film unto itself. She was the true female tennis champion of her time, but lost against Bobby Riggs.
Billy Jean was a fiercely driven person who took up the challenge. While Bobby Riggs was an overly confident, entertainer/gambling buffoon and up until this match, was lucky.
