Battle of the Sexes - a disappointment - Dr Phibes

Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

Battle of the Sexes - a disappointment

I try not to beat my chest here so I don't annoy others, and if someone saw "Battle of the Sexes" please chime in - I would appreciate your perspective. Me? I was annoyed by the film.
Like most bio-pics, instead of focusing on the details concerning the historical significance of the "battle of the sexes", we spend 1/3 of the film on the romantic relationships. This focus on relationships limited the film time to historic superficialities that I already knew.
I'm not oblivious that many same sex/lesbian relationships might be perceived and presented as "hot strippers gettin' down" and this film wanted to present the adversity, fear and child -like innocence woman-folk might experience crossing the lesbian line. I found the same sex relationship focus tedious, a bit retarded and over-glorified. Don't get me wrong, I'm as "left" as the next guy ... but certainly, too much time was spent on romantic intimacy. I found myself impatiently waiting for Steve Carell, who was fantastic as Bobby Riggs (who won me over in The Big Short)... but there was far too little screen time left for Riggs/Carell.
There were a few terrific scenes - when Riggs tries to rekindle his marriage - the scene where King explains to Bill Pullman "that he doesn't like woman" and the film successfully conveys the cultural importance of the event -but overall I found the peripheral characters too obvious, bordering on parody. But that's all we had time for -quick glimpses of ham fisted depictions of characters with little gray area.
And was Riggs husband really such a pussy? Kneeling at the shrine of the wants and needs of Billie Jean King? He seemed more unbalanced then a devoted partner in "love", or dedicated to "friendship".
Have a great day - Jim

Edits: 09/30/17

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

Topic - Battle of the Sexes - a disappointment - Dr Phibes 04:38:40 09/30/17 (7)

Carell was funny . . . - Billy Wonka 17:24:13 10/07/17 (0)

You could watch this version... - RadioWonder 09:46:27 10/01/17 (2)

looks interesting thanks! - PhilJ 16:01:00 10/01/17 (0)

RE: You could watch this version... - Dr Phibes 13:40:48 10/01/17 (0)

Battle of the Sexes - a disappointment - mkuller 11:47:53 09/30/17 (2)

RE: Battle of the Sexes - a disappointment - Dr Phibes 12:09:12 09/30/17 (1)

Not yet...(nt) - mkuller 12:16:03 09/30/17 (0)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.