Battle of the Sexes

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Battle of the Sexes

PG-13

2017

2h 1m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

314 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past.

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Critics Consensus

Battle of the Sexes turns real-life events into a crowd-pleasing, well-acted dramedy that ably entertains while smartly serving up a volley of present-day parallels.

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Heather Hogan

Autostraddle

07/02/2018

It's a sports movie, complete with breathless action sequences, overwrought crowd reactions, and a soaring score. It's a biopic about a legend. And it's one of the best lesbian films I've ever seen.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

12/01/2017

4/5

At 121 minutes, Battle of the Sexes occasionally drags, but it's the Hairy Legged Feminist-Male Chauvinist Pig showdown that we needed right now.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

11/29/2017

The film is not unsuccessful, as it's mostly entertaining enough, and if the gender politics seem oversimplified, there are reminders of some real-life commentaries.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

02/16/2024

4/5

Injecting earnest drama and profundity into the tried-and-true sports movie formula, directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton have crafted a gratifying yarn packed with contagious enthusiasm.

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Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

12/14/2022

Andrea Riseborough is great as Billie Jean’s first girlfriend and Austin Stowall and Elisabeth Shue turn in fine performances as their conflicted spouses.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/17/2022

3/4

Fortunately, the film never becomes a hype machine or gets caught up in the bizarre media circus around the central match. The concentration remains on the players and the emotional stakes, as well as what King's victory represents.

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Mickey B.

@Mickerdoo Dec 26

Tremendous cast, groovy 70s aesthetic and a wacky hinge point in equality. An easy, fun watch. Glad it played out the right way.

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Sandro C

@Katsu_689 Nov 25

Its hard for me to like a main character who cheats on her husband.

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Julia L

Jun 30

A brilliant film which will stay with you.

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kevenquinlan

May 20

Great Movie. I was there for the actual event- they completely Nailed the environment and Times. Emma's great in everything, Pullman was great, Steve Carell is such a fun actor to watch- always nice seeing him in anything. As easy add to any collection regardless of historical relevance. I was watching it an it ended so quickly- I enjoyed all of it.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone May 12

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

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Whatsupfunners

10/21/2024

This Movie just feels off in every way. Sure it's based on a true story and depicts what happend, but i just feel like it's looked upon in the wrong way. (Not saying I can do better, just my opinion). The male chauvinism was very clear from the getgo and was talked about every 10 minutes. I get that that's the point of the movie, however we are bound to get the message after 3 or 4 times, but 15 just feels like its forced down our throughts. The acting wasn't astonisthing, but there wasnt much to work with given the viewpoint/writing of the movie. I also think that the time period in which the movie takes place is pretty uncomfortable and not nice to look at (as i am not from that time period). But that is my problem. TLDR I feel like the director approched the movie at the wrong angle. 4/10

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Valerie Faris

Director

Jonathan Dayton

Director

Emma Stone

Billie Jean King

Steve Carell

Bobby Riggs

Andrea Riseborough

Marilyn Barnett

Natalie Morales

Rosie Casals

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Synopsis

The 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs became the most watched televised sports event of all time. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With her husband urging her to fight for equal pay, the private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past.

Director: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Producer: Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Robert Graf
Screenwriter: Simon Beaufoy
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Cloud Eight, Decibel Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content|Partial Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.6M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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