MovieChat Forums > Battle of the Sexes (2017) Discussion > Yeah right...

Yeah right...

posted 7 years ago by ccr1633 (1538)
14 replies | jump to latest

This was the "battle of the sexes"? The male representative was a 55 year old has-been blowhard looking for publicity (probably exaggerating his sexism while he was at it), while the female was a recent grand-slam champ still in her prime. Try Roger Federer in his prime instead. Billie Jean King beating a man on the verge of collecting social security only amplifies the fact that the best female tennis player in the world could never beat the best male (also in his prime). Even relative mediocrities like Andy Roddick would destroy King with his blazingly fast serve and rocket forehands.

[–] BourbonKing (5788) 7 years ago

My issue with this movie is that Emma Stone looks too attractive in her purposefully homely made-up look to resemble Billie Jean King.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

why's that an issue?

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

I never thought King was particularly UNattractive. I love Stone, and she can't help being cute but slap a pair of big glasses on the girl and give her the right haircut, I'm sure she'll look as close to Billie as to serve the films purpose. I do believe BJK was somewhat tall and Bobby wasn't, so I'm not sure how Carell and Stone stacked up in this regard. Steve looks like an average sized guy while Stone seems a little small, but I'm just guessing.

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

Well, that's how it happened in real life.

[–] MIchiganJFrogg (-35) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

Why would he do that?

Yes, he was basically trolling before trolling became fashionable, but that doesn't mean he didn't care about winning the actual match. No man wants to see the world get his ass whupped by a girl on live international TV.

[–] ChalupaBatman99 (188) 6 years ago

Otter, the word is that he owed a lot of money to the mob. His throwing the game was a payoff to them.

In the movie it covered that he was a gambling addict but it did not talk about his gambling debt to the mob.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

That is the only reason a man with a champion's ego in addition to a male ego would have thrown such a heavily publicized match, because he had to choose between his ego and his kneecaps.

Of course it's far more likely that King just whupped his ass, because he was a fat middle-aged man without the stamina to play at women's championship level. But it's impossible to know whether he owed money to the mob, he's gone and the mobsters would consider it unprofessional to tell the world.

[–] ChalupaBatman99 (188) 6 years ago

That would also explain his trolling with the whole chauvinist act.

Also, he would've only been considered middle aged if he lived to be 110. Which he did not.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

In what universe is age 55 not considered "middle-aged" or midlife? 55 isn't old, and it sure as hell isn't young.

Anyway, IMHO he was trolling partly to publicize his stunt matches, partly because he thought he could turn press attention into money, possibly because he wasn't supportive of feminists, and well, just for the hell of it. He knew this was his last moment in the spotlight, he got as much fun as he could out of the whole kerfuffle.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

"Well, that's how it happened in real life."

way to make the OP's point!

[–] liscarkat (19416) 6 years ago

If she had played any still-active male pro player under forty she wouldn't have had a chance. It was entertaining, but it was a gimmick match to make money, and it didn't prove a damned thing.

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

The way I see it is at some point we had to see a woman beating a man in a sport. Nowadays we knew this can easily happen, but nobody had done it. Riggs was happy to offer himself up for potentially looking bad. It was a fun event, and I believe Billie and Bobby became friends. Everybody wins.

[–] TimMC (9143) 6 years ago

He gave her the match. LOL.