Battle of the Sexes gives a slightly fictionalized look at one of the biggest events in sports history: the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, a highly publicized “battle of the sexes.” Taking place in the midst of an ever-growing feminist movement, and as sports coverage was becoming more sensationalized in the mainstream media, the Battle was a hugely important cultural event – and an over-the-top media spectacle.
The Battle was so mind-blowingly, sarcastically ritualistic (both contestants entered in rickshaws carried by scantily clad models, for example), it’s no surprise that a film version of the match would be as much a comedy as it is a historic drama. So, landing Steve Carell and Emma Stone and Riggs and King, respectively, seems like absolutely perfect casting.
Battle of the Sexes hits theaters September 22nd.
