For someone who came of age in the seventies, the name Billy Jean King means tennis. I wasn't old enough to really understand the complex gender politics involved in the tennis "battle of the sexes," but I knew that she was somehow special.
This movie exposes the sheer guts it took to stand up to an established system determined to diminish the accomplishments of female athletes. "We sell the same tickets," she defiantly says in one scene. With the full weight of the existing tennis organization against her and her fellow players, she paved her own path.
One irony of the story is the involvement of Virginia Slims, the cigarette brand. Were they cynically taking advantage of the situation to glamorize smoking, or were they women's rights pioneers? The idea of a smoking brand associating with athletes seems laughable today, but that's progress of a different kind.
Battle of the Sexes is a very straightforward retelling of the events leading up to the big tennis showdown in the Houston Astrodome between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs. What keeps it from being a snoozefest is the humanity of Emma Stone and Steve Carell, playing actual humans who could easily be caricatured by lesser storytellers.
Billy Jean's relationship with her "hairdresser" isn't played for prurience. It's just another facet of Billy Jean's drive to be completely herself.
Bobby Riggs' gambling problem has some humorous moments; but ultimately, moviegoers will feel compassion for him, just trying to stay afloat on the tails of a waning tennis career.
Battle of the Sexes is a "recommend" from me. 4 out of 5 stars.
Entertaining and educational.