Although there are people who would argue about how accurate this is to the true story that it is based on, the actual truth of the matter is that this is an entertaining movie either way. That's what counts right? It's a nice light-hearted tale about a female tennis player at the top of her game, and a male tennis player who is well pass the sports retirement age. The two lead personalities go head to head here for our amusement. There's an inspiring story to learn from; although it can be a little too on-the-nose at that. Plus the tennis match at the final act of the movie is spectacular to see play out. While there is a good enough attempt to equally shine the spotlight on both Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, this is more so about the former, more than the latter.
Steve Carell is excellent as the self-proclaimed misogynistic retired tennis great with a gambling problem. There's also a subtle but three dimensional take on Riggs that I really appreciated, which keeps him from just being some typical antagonist for this story. Emma Stone is also quite excellent as the female tennis pro who is publicly fighting for equal treatment for women, who also happens to be juggling with some personal issues. Due to the multi-story arcs that Billie Jean has in this story, there is definitely more things for Emma Stone to do here, which justifies why this movie really does focus on her more than what the marketing is suggesting.
While there are shades of this being a biopic, the Direction by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, keeps it from feeling too dry and stale. This story has a beginning, middle, and end. It all feels more like a standard fictional story, rather than a by-the-numbers adaptation of true events. That's not a bad thing, and is to this movie's benefit. This journey that Billie Jean goes through is quite compelling, and is simply the driving factor to this narrative. I myself felt very invested with where the story was taking me, and I really liked how Emma Stone was able to portray Billie Jean King. Very sympathetic. Very inspirational.
lovedit ENJOYED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible
