Battle of the Sexes (2017)

Battle of the Sexes was one of the movies I wanted to see the most last year for two reasons, there's Emma Stone and I love Emma Stone, and it depicts one of the most important sporting events in history that being the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. 

As I said, the year is 1973 and female tennis player Billy Jean King (Emma Stone) confronts Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman) who has announced a tennis tournament where the women's prize is one-eighth of the men's asking for equal pay. But Kramer won't change his mind as he believes the men's tennis has higher quality and more exciting. So King starts this fight against the US Lawn Tennis Association which eventually leads to the match against tennis player Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell), a male chauvinist who believe in the superiority of men and women belonging in the kitchen.

This is the kind of story that has a lot to offer and the filmmaker somehow managed to screw it up. The plot is too thin and it's execution too boring to really engage you, and there are definitely too many subplots along the way. However, when I finally got to the big match at the end, I was excited and on the edge of my seat, even though I already knew the outcome. 

One of Battle of the Sexes' flaws is its tone. It's too lighthearted and doesn't seem to take the whole women's right and social equality situation very seriously, so the film ends up being more of a feel-good and quite enjoyable spot movie that isn't even really about sport as it's focused on its main character, Billy Jean. 

Fox Searchlight Pictures

And that's kind of another problem with this film. We barely get to know her. She doesn't seem to have any personality whatsoever, she is not developed. Damn, we don't even see her love for tennis, because the filmmakers decided to focus on and develop her lesbian relationship with Marilyn Barnett, played by Andrea  Riseborough, instead. King doesn't come off as a strong woman fighting for equal rights but as a lesbian feminist. 

That being said, Emma Stone actually manages to give a great performance as Billy Jean King and her portrayal of King is quite emotional and captures the struggles with King's conflicting sexuality. I wouldn't go as far as saying this is the best performance of her career though, it's far from that. Steve Carrell also does a good job as misogynist Bobby Riggs and his over-the-top performance is rather enjoyable.

So yeah, Battle of the Sexes isn't a complete misfire but it could and should have been better.