Film Review: BATTLE OF THE SEXES Makes Me Proud To Be A Woman ( And Also Want To Play Tennis!)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Battle of The Sexes is the film you go see that leaves you pumped in and for humanity. In the same way, anybody who sees Step Up walks out of the film thinking they are a dancer or watches Mad Max Fury Road and believes they are a post-apocalyptic water conservationist (too far?), Battle of The Sexes exhilarates the world of tennis. Moreover, it revitalizes the sadness and glory of a long fight that seems to never have an end: women’s equality.
Every time Emma Stone stepped onto the screen as Billie Jean King, I swear a bra was burned in solidarity. You just want to wave your birth control and your ferocity in homage to a woman/ performance dedicated to owning yourself. Stone’s performance, honestly, is more dynamic and enthralling than her rich, Oscar turn in La La Land. She is a magnet of showing the brilliant youth, determination, and simple desire a woman can have to be heard. She make Billie Jean King’s motives for Battle of The Sexes simple rather than as epic as their historical ramifications. Remember this film takes place in 1973, when women’s rights and sexual revolution movements were burgeoning to the sincere fear of men who thought, “But who is going to make my dinner if you are happy?”. Admittedly, I felt saddened to see the source of the same remarks and backwards mentalities of today throughout this film. Yet, Steve Carrell manages to save Battle of The Sexes from becoming a “Men Suck!” fest by assuring you see that, at times, bravado stems from loneliness and fear. Sure, there are guys that are genuinely horrible as persons, but Bobby Riggs was simply… sad.
Carrell is the humor of this film. While Stone and gang of fierce ladies rivet the audience with empowerment, Carrell splashes some great physical comedy and a nuance to this “battle of the sexes”. Riggs is an emblem that fears for progress are because you feel you will be left behind. Billie Jean King is in her 20’s. She is bright, fresh, and fierce in fighting for her convictions, but Riggs is heading into his 60’s and cannot truly say has reasons to fight. He is old in body, and with the progression of women’s voices, he feels old in mind, which only adds to his fear. To be left behind in body and mind is not easy, but yet you have to look inside yourself to see why even your thoughts are going stale. Yes, the body ages, but the mind does not have to, which is why Riggs, as a character of this film, stood out to me. He is used to show the sadness and self-culpability of an oppressor at not trusting that they can shine with someone rather falsely “shining” over them. After all, when you see the casual vitriol Billie Jean Kings & Co. face at the hands of chauvinism, you will NOT be saying, “Wow, these guys are so bright. Just real light-hearts!”. Hence, when the game comes, and Billie Jean King rips Riggs a new one, you applaud. Not simply for women, but every good person that had to face the darkness of another to remind him that you can slow my rise down, but can never stop it. Battle of The Sexes Starts, In Theatres, September 29.
