“Battle of the Sexes” is a timely film based on the infamous 1973 tennis match between tennis legend and women’s rights advocate Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and retired tennis champion and side hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell). The film has all the components to be a successful Oscar contender except for the most important one: the story.
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours), “Battle of the Sexes” misses the most essential part of this true story: women’s rights.
The movie more or less begins with the creation of the Virginia Slims Tour which Billie Jean King helped start with Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman) in response to discovering the pay difference between the men’s and women’s champions.
This issue is at the core of what this movie is about; it’s why King left the United States Lawn Tennis Association and formed the Virginia Slims Tour, it’s why it was so important for Margaret Court to win the first ‘Battle of the Sexes,’ and why King saw it as her duty to win the second when Court lost.
Throughout the movie, male characters bemoan the fact that women are trying to get equal rights. Riggs is in the locker room as he watches King become the first female athlete to earn more than $100,000 in one year, and the men are disgusted by this.
There are many arguments the male characters make for why women shouldn’t be treated equally, which reflect many male opinions of the time. They’re emotional, they don’t draw crowds, they’re not fun to watch, but this film does call out the real reason these men resisted the idea of equal rights for women which is fear.
This message is unfortunately lost to all the time spent focused on King’s relationship with Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough) in addition to one too many corny lines. King and Barnett’s relationship takes center stage. We don’t see much of King on the court, and off the court King’s story revolves around dealing with her affair with Barnett.
Meanwhile Carell shines as Bobby Riggs, oozing charisma and endearing him to the audience. For a character that could easily be turned into the villain of this film, the filmmakers wisely choose instead to focus on Jack Kramer, the tennis legend turned tour promoter played by Bill Pullman. King points out that he represents the kind of male that we should be worried about; those who truly believes men are better than women.
Historical movies can be great, but “Battle of the Sexes” misses the mark. Historical movies can either go the serious route (Dunkirk, Spotlight, Selma) or go a light-hearted, uplifting route (Hidden Figures, A United Kingdom). A great cast can only go so far. In both cases the screenplay needs to be the driving part that makes the film work, and in “Battle of the Sexes,” it falls flat.
The verdict: “Battle of the Sexes” takes itself too seriously at times and at other times seems to forget the magnitude of the events the film is about. The cast is great, but a lackluster screenplay lets this movie down.
Reach writer Grace Madigan at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: grace_madigan19
