Battle of the Sexes

This sports drama serves up the empowering real-life story behind the famed 1973 exhibition tennis match between 29-year-old Billie Jean King and 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, who bragged that he could beat any woman player in the world. As reigning Wimbledon champion two years running, King (Emma Stone) was in her prime, while brash, gambling-addicted Riggs (Steve Carell) was Wimbledon's champion back in 1939. With great fanfare, King was carried like Cleopatra on a chaise into the Houston Astrodome, while Riggs, wearing a yellow Sugar Daddy jacket, arrived by rickshaw. At the net, King handed Riggs a squirming piglet, confirming his male chauvinist status. Squaring off for the $100,000 prize, the match became a milestone for the women's liberation movement. At that time under the aegis of condescending Jack Kramer (Bill Pullman), women on the tournament circuit earned far less than men. So King was determined to win respect and equal pay for female players. Meanwhile, off the court, Billie Jean was experiencing a different dilemma: her sexual awakening. Although married to supportive Larry King (Austin Stowell), she was attracted to hairdresser Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough). Husband-and-wife directing team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris cleverly capture the tenor of the time—even incorporating actual footage of Howard Cosell's insidiously sexist commentary—focusing on the social change that swept the country during the last quarter of the 20th century. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Reigniting the Rivalry” (19 min.), “Billie Jean King: In Her Own Words” (11 min.), and “Raw Footage: Billie Jean's Grand Entrance” (2 min.), and photo galleries. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an engaging film.] (S. Granger)