“BATTLE OF THE SEXES” — 2½ stars — Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman; PG-13 (some sexual content and partial nudity); in general release
On its surface, "Battle of the Sexes" presents itself as a semicomic recreation of the 1973 exhibition showdown between 29-year-old women's tennis champion Billie Jean King and 55-year-old chauvinist ex-men's champion Bobby Riggs. But audiences expecting a simple sports underdog movie will find a lot more than that waiting for them.
The stage is set shortly after King's 1972 U.S. Open title, when after a dispute over women's tennis earnings, she and a group of like-minded female players split off from Jack Kramer's U.S. Lawn Tennis Association to form their own group, which eventually launched the Virginia Slims Tour. At this point, King (played by Emma Stone) is at the peak of her powers, rivaled only by Australian Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee).
King is in much better shape than Riggs (Steve Carell), who is struggling to find meaning working for his wealthy father-in-law and struggling to keep a serious gambling addiction from his long-suffering wife Priscilla (Elizabeth Shue). (In one of the film's lighter moments, Riggs stands up in front of a Gambler's Anonymous meeting and insists that their root problem isn't gambling itself, but the fact that they are lousy at it.)
Ever the opportunist, Riggs sees King's success as a golden opportunity in the midst of the Women's Lib 1970s and challenges her to a match, loudly insisting that no woman alive can beat him. Initially, King rebuffs his sideshow of an offer, but after Court accepts — and promptly gets humiliated by Riggs — King reconsiders, and the showdown is on.
But while the core narrative of "Battle of the Sexes" revolves around the Riggs-King match — bolstered by enough condescending male commentary to make audiences wonder just how sexist the 1970s really were — directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' film also elevates King's closeted life as a lesbian to near equal narrative status. Early on, during the Virginia Slims tour, King meets a compelling LA hairdresser named Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough) and launches into a romantic relationship in spite of her supposedly happily married status.
To her — and the film's — credit, King wrestles with her infidelity, and her husband Larry (Austin Stowell), who frequently visits her along the tour, is painted as a tragic and sympathetic character (Court, an openly religious woman who is also married, and also knows of the affair, is painted as calculating and judgmental).
The final result is a film that is much more complex than expected, but also a film that viewers will likely evaluate based on its message more than its execution. Stone is strong in the lead role and gives King real depth as we see her struggling with the various conflicts she is dealing with. Her nuanced performance is a nice counterbalance to the film’s tendency to be heavy-handed with its messaging.
Carell is also surprisingly likable as the supposed chauvinist Riggs, who comes off as a showman playing a part, almost exploiting the culture for its own sexism. The tennis? Well, the tennis is fine. But by the end of "Battle of the Sexes," you get the feeling that tennis was never the point.
“Battle of the Sexes” is rated PG-13 for some sexual content and partial nudity; running time: 121 minutes.