Battle of the Sexes

True cat confession: I love Billie Jean King and all she is. A real bad ass! Always have, every since I was a young kitten.

True cat confession: I don’t go to the movies often. I just think there are better ways to spend my time than two + hours sitting in a movie theater.

True cat confession: Traditionally, tennis movies are terrible! As much as I love the game, movie makers have yet to come up with a formula that translates the magic and drama of tennis into a compelling full length movie.

image: wallpapershome.com

So, when Battle of the Sexes came out, I was conflicted. I love Billie Jean, her story, her tennis, but are the movie makers going to ruin it for me? Luckily, the Battle of the Sexes got it right!

The movie’s premise highlight’s Billie Jean King’s fight for equal prize money for men and women in tennis, the birth of the Women’s Tennis Association, and the much publicized “Battle of the Sexes” match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King.

What set this movie apart from other tennis movies is it really didn’t focus on tennis. Yes, tennis was the avenue for which all of the key elements were centralized, but it struck the right note when developing the characters behind the headlines. Bobby Riggs and his strained relationship with his wife and family, the dynamics between Jack Kramer and Billie Jean, Billie Jean’s relationship with her husband and her struggle with her own sexuality at a time when coming out could have been detrimental to her career. It told the story of women’s rights for equal pay (which is still an issue in the US with women making $0.77 for every $1.00 a man makes, according to a 2014 study posted on now.org), it had believable acting and was not just another novelty tennis flick.

Billie Jean King was a trailblazer for gender equality and equal prize money in tennis and other social justice causes. She is one of my favorite human’s in all the world! My hero! If you have a couple of hours to spare, you should definitely add this to your movie viewing list.

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