Battle of the Sexes
Most major sports have been the subject of great movies. For example, baseball has “The Natural,” boxing has “Rocky” and “Raging Bull,” basketball has “Hoosiers,” and running has “Chariots of Fire.” Even the low budget film, “Slap Shot” is a hilarious take on hockey to name a few. With “Battle of the Sexes,” tennis now has an entry onto the list of first-rate films in an uplifting, if overly plastic and politically correct, treatment of American culture in 1973. This story of the epic match between 29-year-old Billie Jean King and 55-year-old Bobby Riggs changed tennis, the role of women in sports and the entire feminist movement. Almost 45 years later, the event’s enormous cultural impact is felt worldwide.
As a piece of entertainment, this is a fast-paced, satisfying and highly entertaining movie. My acid test for evaluating if my trip to the theater was worthwhile is to reflect after a movie and ask, “Should I have stayed home and waited for this to come to Netflix?”
My $14 was well spent to see this movie because as a lifelong advocate of the value of sports and tennis as a way to ascend in life, I enjoyed seeing this story unfold on the big screen.
This is not a movie without major flaws however. Emma Stone as King; Steve Carell as Riggs; Sarah Silverman as World Tennis Magazine Editor Gladys Heldman; and Bill Pullman as tennis great, turned tennis executive, Jack Kramer are gleefully cartoon like in their exaggerated performances. The movie portrays male chauvinists as ultra-villains, and feminists as heroes fighting a brave and righteous fight. While I don’t disagree with Directors Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy’s politically progressive agenda, their vision contains little complexity.
One thing that is not up for debate is the recognition that Billie Jean King is a true American hero. She risked her personal life and professional reputation to further gay rights and women’s rights. Her efforts mattered. It was a monumental task to fight one of these battles and a staggering achievement to be a vital catalyst to further both causes. Let’s not forget however that Bobby Riggs was more than a foil to King and social justice. He was a three-time singles Grand Slam Champion, number one in the world for three years and the world’s best tennis hustler. Maybe he was an angry misogynist on the wrong side of history or maybe he was as crazy as a fox? I like to think the latter.
Rumors have been floating around for years that Riggs, after beating the world’s number one-ranked woman, Margaret Court, 6-2, 6-1 in the so-called “Mother’s Day Massacre,” set out to consummate his greatest hustle. He willingly played the role of the self-proclaimed “Male Chauvinist Pig,” forming the tongue-in-cheek group “Riggs Pigs” to spark interest, debate and betting action. He then bet against himself as King was a large underdog so the payoff would be huge. Since this was not a “real” sporting event but a mere exhibition, it’s hard to accuse him of sports fixing. You cannot fix performance art … can you? The movie doesn’t address this rumor, and while it is a fascinating footnote, it doesn’t diminish the societal impact of this match.
This is an important and exhilarating movie, and it’s about time that a major motion picture recognized Billie Jean King as the brave towering champion of women’s sports and social justice that she has well earned. You may not be convinced that the events and performances are accurate in “Battle of the Sexes,” but you will not be disappointed with its message or bored with the content of the film.
