Billie contre Bobby: La bataille des sexes

An enjoyable dramatization of this famous battle of the sexes. Hunter and Silver were wonderful as King and Riggs. Worth catching. If you liked this movie, then catch a more current retelling in the Battle of the Sexes with Stone and Carell.

I suppose it was. not a horrible film, but it wasn't the best film of the year. It made me recall the real battle of the sexes and the circus surrounding it. My only real comment on the film would be, who the heck thought Fred Willard would make a good Howard Cosell?

Amen, sister! Can I get a witness? Hallelujah, I'm saved! Yes, he orthodox gospel of feminist rectitude is proclaimed at full volume in this trying-to-be-relevant-but-mostly-fluffy made-for-TV movie.

My daughter has recently taken up an interest in tennis, so I dropped this lightweight drama in my Netflix queue, not expecting much either way. As it turned out, this could have been a really bad movie, but thankfully it's not. What saves it (hallelujah, it's saved!) from being just another dreary feminist harangue is good performances from Holly Hunter as Wimbledon champion Billie Jean King and Ron Silver as the aging hustler Bobby Riggs. I was going to further criticize this movie for unequal treatment: making King an actual human being but portraying Riggs as a nothing but a one-dimensional buffoon (after all, who doesn't want a dastardly villain who is easily dispatched?), but the more I read about Riggs, the more I came to realize that that was the way he was in real life.

This is not a fine-cuisine-and-red-wine type of movie; it's more like a Burger King meal deal. Fun, but not to be taken too seriously, and not with all the heavy-handed preaching.

I was blithely unaware of the existence of the Battle of the Sexes until happening upon this film one evening on my way to bed.

I ended up staying awake for the whole film simply because its manner of taking classic caricatures of personality extremes and making them not only something to laugh at, but human and warm and intelligent.

I am NOT a tele movie type of gal, but this one took a hold somehow and just went from strength to strength. I will be looking for it to add to my DVD collection.

I know the whole women's lib thing was a significant event to which I should be eternally grateful etc etc, and that theme was well developed of course, but what this film really showed me is that in any situation where people are oppressed and undervalued there can be a positive, friendly and adamant attitude that can bring about real and genuine change - not just in the rules but in the attitudes of the masses, the place REAL changes occur.

I'll be looking for this film to add to my DVD collection and I'll be making sure I show my children when they are older to inspire them and prove that we are able to stand up for what we believe in without putting others down.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up!!

One of the most entertaining, best-written/directed TV movies I've seen. Jane Anderson has given us a classic of quality. A slice of the past that sums up a turning point in American history. Holly Hunter, Ron Silver......the best.