Battle Of The Sexes review: An entertaining crowd-pleaser
IN 1973, a tennis court in Texas became the unlikely setting for a defining moment in the struggle for equality.
Steve Carell and Emma Stone star in Battle of the Sexes
The match between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was all about pride and glory.
Fast-talking hustler Riggs had promised to put the “show back into chauvinism” and prove that men were the superior gender, generously saying he had no problem with women on the tennis court as somebody had to pick up the balls.
Billie Jean wanted to wipe the smile off his smug face and show that women athletes deserved respect and equal prize money at the major tournaments.
Billie Jean wanted to wipe the smile off his smug face
The background to the story and the match are revisited in The Battle Of The Sexes.
Carell is unexpectedly endearing as the incorrigible chauvinist and Emma Stone captures Billy Jean’s steely determination.
The glib screenplay is often thumpingly obvious but this is an entertaining crowd-pleaser.