King Richard

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dmforever
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King Richard

#1

Post by dmforever »

I'm just wondering what y'all thought.

At least they got most of the tennis stuff right, though I think some of the inaccuracies were on purpose because they wanted it to be a certain way for the movie. I don't know enough about their lives to know how much of that they got right, but in general I think it was a pretty enjoyable movie.

I was impressed that they got actors who at least somewhat looked like real people, and many of them could actually play, or look like they could. They even had that behind the back velcro ball holder that Sanchez Vicario used to wear. I laughed when I saw that.

I don't know enough about the Williams' lives to know how much of that was accurate. At what point did Richard and Oracene Williams get divorced?

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Re: King Richard

#2

Post by ashkor87 »

Thanks for the review! I plan to see it just as soon as I can...
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Re: King Richard

#3

Post by dmforever »

ashkor87 wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 7:59 am Thanks for the review! I plan to see it just as soon as I can...
I don't know what the deal is outside the US, but here it's streaming on HBO Max for a week or two more. It was fun. And the actor they got to play Serena actually looked like her and had her mannerisms down, as did the actor who played Venus. In that respect they did a very good job. ;)
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Re: King Richard

#4

Post by Deuce »

Here's an interesting article (if you can get past the typos) from 1997...

Daddy's Big Test
R.I.P. Amal...

“The opposite of courage is not cowardice - it’s conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”- Jim Hightower
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Re: King Richard

#5

Post by ashkor87 »

Nice article.thanks a ton!

I always thought Venus should have been named Serena...
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Re: King Richard

#6

Post by meganfernandez »

dmforever wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 7:51 am I'm just wondering what y'all thought.

At least they got most of the tennis stuff right, though I think some of the inaccuracies were on purpose because they wanted it to be a certain way for the movie. I don't know enough about their lives to know how much of that they got right, but in general I think it was a pretty enjoyable movie.

I was impressed that they got actors who at least somewhat looked like real people, and many of them could actually play, or look like they could. They even had that behind the back velcro ball holder that Sanchez Vicario used to wear. I laughed when I saw that.

I don't know enough about the Williams' lives to know how much of that was accurate. At what point did Richard and Oracene Williams get divorced?

Kevin
Aranxta's ball holder was one of my favorite parts of the movie. I didn't know about their San Jose match. Did anyone else? I assume that's how it really happened. Aranxta took a big hit in the movie.

I thought Jennifer looked and sounded realistic. I was surprised by her portrayal, like what Macci said Venus at 14 was twice as good as Jennifer ever was - that's a huge dig to put in the movie - and the way she influenced Richard's decisions about Venus's development, if that was true. It's evidently they way they see it or want it to be seen.

The tennis looked legit, thank god. First movie I've seen where the tennis wasn't cringeworthy. The actress who played Venus is even left-handed. Not only did she learn tennis from scratch, she learned it with her non-dominant hand and in Venus's style. She could go play in college if she keeps it up. However, I think some of the match action was played by NCAA players, like Tiafoe's girlfriend.

Guessing the wheeling and dealing at the end was pretty much accurate. But I don't really care how accurate anything was, though. I just enjoyed it. I watched it twice one weekend, on HBO, and will watch it again.

Per Google, Richard and Oracene were split by at least 2000 and divorced in 2002. That's actually really interesting because that's when both girls started having big results - yet their family was falling apart. You have to think it was rocky before 2000, as Venus and Serena were breaking through. That's a big deal when you're that close to your family and that young. It's kind of amazing they were able to stay focused on tennis through it. I have a hunch that Rafa's parents' divorce in 2009 affected him at the French Open that year, when he lost to Soderling.
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Re: King Richard

#7

Post by dmforever »

meganfernandez wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:48 pm
dmforever wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 7:51 am I'm just wondering what y'all thought.

At least they got most of the tennis stuff right, though I think some of the inaccuracies were on purpose because they wanted it to be a certain way for the movie. I don't know enough about their lives to know how much of that they got right, but in general I think it was a pretty enjoyable movie.

I was impressed that they got actors who at least somewhat looked like real people, and many of them could actually play, or look like they could. They even had that behind the back velcro ball holder that Sanchez Vicario used to wear. I laughed when I saw that.

I don't know enough about the Williams' lives to know how much of that was accurate. At what point did Richard and Oracene Williams get divorced?

Kevin
Aranxta's ball holder was one of my favorite parts of the movie. And the clothes in general from that era. I didn't know about that San Jose match. Did anyone else? I'm guessing that's how it really happened? I thought Aranxta took a bit hit in the movie, and maybe deservedly so.

I thought Jennifer looked pretty authentic. I was really surprised the way she was portrayed in the movie, like what Macci said about Venus being twice as good as she ever was - that's a pretty big dig to put that in the movie - and the way she influenced Richard's decisions about Venus's development, if that was true. I think a lot of that has to be taken with a grain of salt, but then again, it's evidently they way they see it or want it to be seen.

The tennis looked legit, thank god. First movie Iv'e seen where the tennis wasn't cringeworthy. The actress who played Venus is even left-handed. Not only did she learn tennis from scratch, she learned it with her dominant hand and in Venus's style. I mean, she could go play in college if she keeps it up. However, I think some of the match action sequences were played by NCAA players, like Tiafoe's girlfriend.

Guessing the wheeling and dealing at the end was pretty much accurate. But I don't really care how accurate it was. I just enjoyed it. I watched it twice one weekend, on HBO, and will watch it again.

Per Google, Richard and Oracene were split by at least 2000 and divorced in 2002. That's actually really interesting because that's when both girls started having big results - yet their family was falling apart. You have to think it was rocky before 2000, as they were breaking through. That's a big deal when you're that close to your family and that young. It's kind of amazing they were able to stay focused on tennis through it. I have a hunch that Rafa's parents' divorce in 2009 affected him at the French Open that year, when he lost to Soderling.
Thanks for the info about their divorce and I totally agree that that must have been hard for their daughters to handle.

I agree that they got actors who looked at least a little like the real people but tended to do shots that didn't focus on them up close for too long. The guy who portrayed Mac didn't really look like him but did sound like him, though having him complain loudly during a practice session with Pete seemed like an obvious ploy just to make sure we all knew he was Johnny Mac. Pete had dark curly hair but that was as far as the resemblance went. And please correct me if I'm wrong but those two practicing together was probably done for the movie, right? Mac retired in singles in 1994 and Pete turned pro in 1998 (thank you Google). As you said, Jennifer looked pretty authentic both in looks and playing style. Arantxta was OK but too thin. But I quibble. :)

The whole match with Sanchez Vicario however, was off. It was the Bank of the West in Oakland. It's an indoor basketball and concert arena that was used for tennis during the late fall / early winter. You could not have a tournament outdoors at that time in the Bay Area because of the chance of rain, especially back then. It was on fast carpet and indoors. And yes, I agree, they definitely did cast Arantxa as the villain.

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Re: King Richard

#8

Post by JTContinental »

Will Smith interviews Venus, Serena, her sisters, and her mother on the latest episode of Red Table Talk, and it is very entertaining.
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Re: King Richard

#9

Post by dmforever »

Thanks for that. I had no idea what Red Table Talk was, and when I googled it I found a whole rabbit hole of Will Smith and his family videos that I chose not to go down. I'm sooooo out of it. :)

Here is the link. I couldn't link the video directly, but you can find it if you scroll down a little.



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Re: King Richard

#10

Post by mmmm8 »

I assume the movie doesn't touch on Richard Williams' "alleged" history of domestic abuse and his neglect of his children from the first marriage, right?

Cannot downplay his contributions to tennis, his daughters careers, and, ironically, his positive impact on women of color through his daughters, but I really can't force myself into watching. Given the title, I assume it somewhat glorifies him.


(Sorry, I'm always the Debbie Downer)
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Re: King Richard

#11

Post by dmforever »

mmmm8 wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:46 pm I assume the movie doesn't touch on Richard Williams' "alleged" history of domestic abuse and his neglect of his children from the first marriage, right?

Cannot downplay his contributions to tennis, his daughters careers, and, ironically, his positive impact on women of color through his daughters, but I really can't force myself into watching. Given the title, I assume it somewhat glorifies him.


(Sorry, I'm always the Debbie Downer)
It's good to paint a complete picture. I didn't know about either of those things and no, it doesn't even hint at any of that. Does he have a good relationship with S and V now? What about his two other daughters?

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Re: King Richard

#12

Post by mmmm8 »

He was never convicted of anything (unfortunately, all his sons have been, and one of them was recently arrested for domestic abuse).

I know that they (Serena and Venus) supported and helped produce the movie. He' had a stroke recently.

One of his daughters is estranged (this is from a gossip rag source and she seems very salty, to be fair): https://pagesix.com/2020/01/10/serena-a ... st-family/

In general, I, personally, think Oracene gets a lot less credit than she deserves and she should be the one with movies made about her.
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Re: King Richard

#13

Post by ponchi101 »

mmmm8 wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:47 pm ...

In general, I, personally, think Oracene gets a lot less credit than she deserves and she should be the one with movies made about her.
Never been a fan of anybody in the family, but Oracene has never been anything less than classy. When they win, when they lose.
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Re: King Richard

#14

Post by meganfernandez »

mmmm8 wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:46 pm I assume the movie doesn't touch on Richard Williams' "alleged" history of domestic abuse and his neglect of his children from the first marriage, right?

Cannot downplay his contributions to tennis, his daughters careers, and, ironically, his positive impact on women of color through his daughters, but I really can't force myself into watching. Given the title, I assume it somewhat glorifies him.


(Sorry, I'm always the Debbie Downer)
They touch on him abandoning his older kids from the previous marriage. Oracene brings it up during an argument. Not the domestic violence part, but not sure it would have fit into the narrow timeline of the movie, and I'm respecting Isha's, Venus's and Serena's decision on that. It's the movie they wanted to make.

I joked that there should be a Queen Oracene movie, too. But you know she wouldn't want it. Richard probably loves this. She gets some credit for their tennis in an interesting scene.

I kind of felt the same as you about the glorification, was worried it would irritate me, but I enjoyed the movie. It's just a good Hollywood tennis movie. I learned some important things about him. And I took it with a grain of salt anyway and just enjoyed the entertainment. To each their own! :)
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Re: King Richard

#15

Post by meganfernandez »

dmforever wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:30 pm Thanks for that. I had no idea what Red Table Talk was, and when I googled it I found a whole rabbit hole of Will Smith and his family videos that I chose not to go down. I'm sooooo out of it. :)
Me, too. Never heard of this. :) I'll watch it, though. Sounds interesting.
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