Battle of the Sexes
Emma Stone and Steve Carell star in this recreation of the legendary 1973 tennis match that pitted Billie Jean King against Bobby Riggs, directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE).
King is a champion athlete and an outspoken feminist in her professional life, but her personal life is a struggle. Her marriage is failing. Her closeted sexuality feels like a distraction. Outraged that the National Tennis League won’t allow equal pay for men and women, King founds her own tour with Gladys Heldman as manager. Riggs is decades removed from his last championship. Facing dwindling finances and desperate to win back his ex-wife, he proposes a publicity-snaring challenge: a $100,000 winner-take-all match. King is more than game.
The film reminds us just how much blatant sexism pervaded the so-called sexual revolution. But it also shows the great strides made by trailblazers like King. Bursting with colourful period production design and costumes, BATTLE OF THE SEXES is as fleet and fun as it is politically acute, and Stone and Carell make hugely enjoyable adversaries.