King Richard (HBO Max)
Richard Williams is a dedicated father but he is an annoying
person. This is a Horatio Alger story but here Horatio is black and female. His drill sergeant method guiding his daughters to tennis stardom is admirable but dictatorial.
He had an 84 page plan for the girls tennis stardom but he could not succeed without
the remarkable talent of Venus and Sarina. As he said he has two Michael
Jordans. The film is a biopic, it tells
a good story but lacks dramatic tension. The story could have been as effective
on PBS. Surprisingly on HBO Max it was for free.
Will Smith gives his usual performance. This is a toned down
“Bad Boys” act. Same face contortions, same leaning over into your face, same
eyebrow lifts, same tone. As he demonstrated in “Ali” he can do better but he
did not try here. Aside from the two delightful young girls who played Venus
and Sarina the other character of note was Aunjanue Ellis who played his wife
Oracene “Brandy” Price. She is a partner in her husband’s quest for their daughters
success but she corrects the course when she things go wrong. The two young
girls who portray the future tennis greats are very sweet and almost never push
back on the intense regiment they have to follow. May we all have teenagers
like them.
Names of famous tennis stars were dropped everywhere. From a
historical perspective it was interesting to see how many tennis players had
the same coaches. There were reenactments of actual tennis matches. The other
actors were bit players mostly folding to Richard’s demands. While both sisters
are showcased as potential tennis greats this is the rise of Venus and her
early wins.
Not to dissuade you from seeing this movie other critics
have given this film glowing reviews.
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