King Richard (2021)

[Sam Posten]

Title: King Richard (2021)

Tagline: Venus, Serena and a plan for greatness.

Genre: Drama

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Cast: Will Smith, Demi Singleton, Saniyya Sidney, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Susie Abromeit, Dylan McDermott, Judith Chapman, Katrina Begin, Erin Cummings, Andy Bean, Kevin Dunn, Craig Tate, Calvin Clausell Jr.

Release: 2021-11-18

Runtime: 138

Plot: The TRUE STORY of how Richard Williams served as a coach to his daughters Venus and Serena, who will soon become two of the most legendary tennis players in history.

I don't know shit about Tennis despite building tennis courts in my teens but King Richard is a great film. Will Smith is amazing and the girls playing the sisters were terrific.

 

[Sam Posten]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/19/king-richard-will-smith-williams-sisters-isha-price/

 

[JoeStemme]

Sports movies bring with them a certain set of expectations and, yes, cliches. Add to this is that KING RICHARD is also a bio-pic which also come with certain baggage. The hook in Reinaldo Marcus Green's movie is that it is based on the early lives of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams (played here by Saniyya Sidney & Demi Singleton respectively). Still, the focus is clearly on their father Richard (Will Smith). More precisely, the movie only covers the few years leading up to Venus' professional debut at the ripe old age of 14.

Richard is depicted as a “man with a plan” (literally in this case). He drives the girls hard in his dogged determination to make them “champions” - so hard, that neighbors call social services. To Green and writer Zach Baylin's credit, the movie clearly shows the Williams family as a unit. The three other sisters are also shown to be bright exceptional young ladies. And, their mother Oracene (Aunjunue Ellis; extremely good here) makes clear that she is an equal partner in the marriage - and, the girls' career. Growing up in Compton, the Williams' face obstacles such as crime and gangs, and when they venture into the mostly lily white world of tennis they aren't in the clear.

Without Will Smith the movie wouldn't work. Smith plays down his usual chiseled looks and slumps and talks like an older man. He is full of brash and braggadocio, but Smith mostly keeps it in check even if his star charisma is never fully scrubbed away. As two tennis coaches, Tony Goldwyn (as Paul Cohen) and Jon Bernthal (Rick Macci) capably show the exasperation with Richard's overbearing tennis dad while also recognizing the once in a generation talents of the sisters (or is that twice?). Somewhat surprisingly, the script's focus is much more on Venus than the female tennis GOAT Serena but she was the older sibling (and Sidney's big brace-filled smile does light up the screen). Acknowledgment must also go out to the filmmakers for not cutting too many corners with an overload of typical sports montages, even if it does slow the pace and adds unnecessary minutes to the movie.

KING RICHARD doesn't fully succeed as a bio-pic, unsurprisingly to an extent since it was co-produced by Venus and Serena. Director Green has admitted that the screenplay was submitted for their approval and their sister Lyndrea worked on set in the Costume department. Their 'input' extended all the way into the editing phase. Richard's rougher edges are certainly softened (he didn't just have one other son - but, allegedly other children totaling into the teens in number), but not completely. It's a fair portrait overall. It's as a sports movie where it clearly shines. It follows the basic path of the sub-genre, but does it quite well (sports films also have the advantage of lower standards for accuracy). It's entertaining and uplifting.

P.S. I got to work with Serena Williams on one of her early acting roles. She was, as portrayed here, a poised professional.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Saw this tonight and thought it was reasonably enjoyable, though I liked the message more than the movie.

Clearly the Williams sisters act as important role models, and they showed that even the whitest of sports doesn't need to be that limited.

So I appreciate that, but unfortunately, this also means the movie lacks much dramatic tension. We know how it'll end, so there's no real suspense or intrigue along the way.

Venus gets offered a $3 million contract from Nike - will she take it? Oh, she'll gamble on her skills instead - gee, wonder if that'll pay off?

Movies where we know the ending can still be tense - "Apollo 13" remains a standout in that regard - but there's just no real drama on display here.

That trickles down to even the parts where "the establishment" questions Richard. We know he'll be proven correct, and not just because we're aware that the Williams sisters became tennis legends.

It's the way the movie paints all the events. It rarely lets Richard be wrong about anything, so whenever he butts heads with "the establishment", we know his POV will prevail.

Smith does do nicely as Richard, especially because he takes a potentially overbearing, unlikable character and adds warmth.

And the movie moves pretty briskly despite its excessive running time. As predictable as it was, I never felt bored.

Still, I'd prefer a version of this tale that feels less sanitized and trite. It's an entertaining enough ride but it could've been better.