OSCARS 2022: King Richard (2021)

During my middle school years, there was a very brief attempt on my behalf to get invested in tennis. I even bought a racket and bounce a ball around a court with my dad once or twice. This was mostly a desperate attempt to get my then-tubby ass out from in front of the computer. It didn’t work, as I never really cared about the rules of the game and have mediocre hand-eye coordination. I have no idea if the incredible popularity of the Williams sisters had anything to do with my decision to try out the Wimbledon hobby. I was certainly aware of the sisters, as they are definitely the most popular tennis players of my youth. Now, Venus and Serena have gotten the Oscar biopic… Kinda because “King Richard” is actually about Richard Williams, their father who orchestrated the sisters’ rise to tennis stardom. 

Beginning in the late eighties, Richard Williams is a security guard trying to raise five daughters in poor, troubled community of Compton, California. Richard decided when Venus and Serena were young that they would become tennis stars. He trains them non-stop in the sport and attempts to convince high-ranking coaches to take them on. Eventually, after many failures, he talks Paul Cohen, the top coach in the sport, into training the girls. The family struggles to foster the sisters' incredible skill and talent, while dealing with economic difficulties and the pressures of the demanding tennis world... But mostly Richard's insistence on micro-managing every aspect of Venus and Serena's lives and careers. 

In many ways, "King Richard" is exactly the kind of Oscar Bait-y biopic you think it is. The Williams sisters' story – of growing up poor, surviving adversity, and overcoming incredible odds to become the top athletes in their field – fits the inspirational sports story formula perfectly. The movie tells this true tale in compelling fashion. There's a lot of juicy storytelling here, in moments where Richard can only choose one of his daughters to be mentored by Cohen. Or when an impressive sponsorship deal comes their way and the family has to decide what to do. Richard's insistence on keeping the girls out of the junior leagues, having them go from training and straight into the pros, provides most of the dramatic tension in the second half. These scenarios are all written well and the audience gets invested in seeing how they'll play out.

Richard's methods are extreme and I wish the film built more ambiguity around that. His unorthodox way of teaching his daughters to be humble – nearly abandoning them at a corner store – results in an argument with his wife. Early on, he's beaten by a local thug and nearly retaliates with violence. He often argues with coaches and agents, intentionally rubbing people the wrong way or making outrageous demands. His control freak tendencies are frustrating to Venus, who is eager to prove her worth. No matter how contrarian his process is, the movie is always on Richard's side. Because, obviously, it worked. Both Venus and Serena became the biggest tennis players in the world. We wouldn't be watching this movie otherwise! Yet I do wish the film focused a little more on the times Richard Williams pushed too far, discarded his daughters' feelings, or made an ass of himself. That would've added a little more depth to the film.

Mostly, "King Richard" is the kind of Oscar movie designed to be a vehicle for a big star, giving a big performance. And that is certainly true of Will Smith here. He adopts Williams' distinctive Louisiana accent. He gets several showy moments designed to be Oscar clips, such as a heated argument with his wife about his previous relationship. Or a stirring monologue to his daughter about his own father. Smith is genuinely good, never overplays it, and sometimes seems more invested in Richard's complexities than the movie around him. Aunjanue Ellis – as Brandy Williams, the girls' mother – and Jon Bernthal – Rick Macci, the sisters' hotheaded coach – are also very good. Ellis does great when playing off Smith and Bernthal's part allows for a lot of likable eccentricities. 

"King Richard" was directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, whose other work – which includes "Joe Bell," another inspirational dad-centric movie – I'm not familiar with. Green acquits himself with the material well. It helps that tennis is a pretty visually dynamic sport. This is most obvious during the film's climax, Venus' star making match against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who was one of the top players in the game at the time. The camera gets right in with the ball as he's hit back and forth, making for a fairly exciting sequence to watch. "King Richard" is still too long and Green includes a couple of obvious needle drops. Overall though, it's a good-looking and well executed motion picture. 

Do I think it deserved to be nominated for six Academy Awards? Smith and Ellis both do fine work, so they certainly earned their nominations. I wouldn't have given a Best Picture slot, and certainly not a Best Original Screenplay or Editing vote, to it. I guess, even in this day and age, the Academy still can't resist a stirring, fact-based story about people rising out of nothing and reaching greatness. The film even ends with the required archive footage of the real people, while that nominated Beyoncé song plays. (Which I liked a little better in the context of the film.) It May meet the standard definition of Oscar bait but "King Richard" is still a decent movie. I don't regret watching it. [7/10]