King Richard was an odd movie for me. I’m a lifelong tennis fan, played competitively from about ages 14-20. So I’m fairly well-versed in the Williams’ family story. And as inspirational as it is, I’ve never been a fan. Not of Serena, not of Richard. I’m more indifferent towards Venus, but still. There’s no denying the impact they’ve had on tennis, for women, for Black players, for the game as a whole. And for that, I’m grateful and appreciative. But there are things about them, what they’ve done, how they’ve acted, that, let’s just say, I don’t jibe with. But this isn’t the place to air that out. They’re not hard to find if you’re so inclined.
Instead, that’s all to say I came to King Richard with conflicted feelings. In a way, I didn’t want to like the movie. It was no Roger Federer movie, Ken Griffey Jr or Kevin Garnett, a few of my all-time favorite athletes. If/when those movies get made, I’m going to love them, even if they’re the biggest steaming pile of garbage you’ve ever seen. But this? I had to work to come to it as objectively as possible. To separate the Williams family I’m familiar with in real life from the Williams family presented here. And you know what? I’m glad I did, because King Richard is a damn good movie.
Serena and Venus Williams have achieved success at the absolute highest levels. They’ve time and again proven to be the elites among the elites. Once Serena eventually retires, she will likely do so as the greatest female tennis player of all time, and Venus isn’t far behind. But how did they get there? How did they go from Compton to the top of the tennis world? That’s what King Richard wants to answer.
The easy answer is that Venus and Serena are supremely talented athletes and that as long as they stuck with tennis, they would have gotten there one way or another. And while there is some truth to that (it could be argued they succeeded in spite of Richard), that’s not the story King Richard wants to tell. The movie attributes their success, at the early stages, at least, to their eccentric father (Will Smith, in arguably a career-best performance).
You see, Richard has a plan. A 78 page plan, to be exact. He believes, with every fiber of his being, that if he and his girls follow this plan exactly, the only result is for them to become the champions they actually do become. And Richard will do whatever it takes to get them there. Whether it’s practicing in the rain, training at courts in a dangerous neighborhood, standing up to the local gang, negotiating his way into free coaching. He’ll do it. And he doesn’t just talk the talk either; he puts in the time. Richard trains them himself while they search for a coach. He does this during the day before going to his night shift job as a security guard. He’s clearly sacrificing parts of his own life so for the benefit of his daughters.
And it’s that familial aspect that really allows King Richard to shine. Richard might exhibit traits of the stereotypical overbearing sports parent, but he’s also more balanced as well. He insists on his daughters getting good grades, even while putting them through their intense training. They don’t get the grades, they don’t play. He’s looking out for their mental health as well. Amidst strong, constant pressure for Venus to turn pro, he’s wary of the troubles that could bring. Seeing fellow American Jennifer Capriati’s struggles, he doesn’t want his daughters to burn out while they’re still just kids.
He sticks to his guns, even moving forward with the controversial decision to pull his daughters from the junior circuit. How can you expect them to continue to develop as players if they aren’t competing against other elite competition? But even when everyone else was telling him he was wrong, Richard believed in his heart it was the right choice for Venus and Serena his daughters, if maybe not for Venus and Serena the tennis players.
Quick aside: This is where you can argue Richard lucked out quite a bit. This decision could have completely derailed Venus and Serena’s career paths. Had they not been Venus and Serena, this may have been the beginning of the end. But, they are Venus and Serena, and they were simply too talented not to succeed.
But again, it comes back to family. When it comes down to it, he’s a father looking out for his daughters. And it’s not just Venus and Serena, either. He, along with wife Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis), also have three other daughters keeping them busy. While Richard’s focus remains on Venus and Serena, he stays on top of them as well. And it’s this focus that gives King Richard such broad appeal, and makes it easy for tennis fans and non-fans alike to find and maintain a connection to the story.
With any biographical film like this, you typically expect the movie to go easy on its subjects. And King Richard is no different. It paints Richard in a mostly positive light. He’s just a dad who wants the best for his kids, who wants to give them a better life than he had growing up. But to the movie’s credit, it does touch on some of Richard’s less flattering characteristics. His stubbornness, infidelity, walking away from other kids from other relationships. He doesn’t come out of this unscathed. And while that’s great that it attempted to paint Richard as more fully-fleshed out person, it still could have gone a little deeper.
Even for all it does so well, King Richard still falls victim to several of the same tried-and-true “inspirational sports movie” tropes we’ve all seen time and again. And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing (you see them so often for a reason: they work), it doesn’t do much in that aspect to set itself apart from the likes of Rudy, The Blind Side, Miracle.
But the focus on family and the outstanding performances are what elevate King Richard. The family vibe gets the emotional pull that anyone can connect with. Since its premiere, there has been serious Oscar buzz surrounding Will Smith, and it’s well-deserved. Aunjanue Ellis is fantastic as Oracene, and might well see a nomination herself. She gets one of the best scenes in the movie, a dressing down of Richard that was probably a long-time coming. In another supporting role, Jon Bernthal is INCREDIBLE as Rick Macci, one of Venus and Serena’s coaches. He brings a magnetic energy that brings everything up another notch or two. It’s maybe my single favorite performance this year.
I’ll finish with the tennis aspect. Tennis doesn’t get a lot of shine on the big screen, so I was very excited to see how all that played out. And not just the actual tennis action, but the lives of tennis players, the people and players you encounter playing junior tournaments. And I have to say, they nailed it. The tennis play itself looked great. I don’t know how much they used Saniyya Sidney for Venus’s tennis scenes, but there were some times where it looked exactly like Venus. From a technical or form standpoint, it was overall very well done.
There were also tons of little things that probably mean nothing to people who don’t follow tennis. There’s a short, fun scene with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras, Vic Braden pops in for a hot minute, Andy Roddick gets a shout out, as do several other young and up-and-coming players of the time.
But perhaps my favorite stretch of the movie is when Venus and Serena first start playing junior tournaments. You see their opponents getting upset at themselves, disappointed parents, players cheating (not super uncommon as most matches prior to maybe Division 1 college or pro matches self-officiate for the most part; weird to anyone not familiar with how these are run, but it’s very real). Now, to be fair, it showed the extreme side. Most players and parents you encounter are great. Most players don’t cheat. But these parts were included for a reason. If I’m giving an award for most nostalgic movie of 2021, King Richard wins it running away.
And what makes these parts even better, is that they’re included with a deft touch. There shouldn’t be anything about the inner workings of tennis that should turn off anyone who isn’t as familiar with the sport. But for anyone who is? It’s just an added bonus. And those come up constantly throughout the movie. It was awesome seeing the sport I love so much be so well-represented on screen.
Score: 90/100
