I finally remembered to get a new laundry basket at the supermarket this week.
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American Made is a 2017 Tom Cruise film that tells of the surreal life of Barry Seal (played to perfection by Cruise), a commercial pilot turned CIA informant turned drug runner turned CIA informant / drug runner. The Wiki article I’ve linked to highlights some of the historic inaccuracies of the film but as director Doug Liman explains, the film is a ‘fun lie based on a true story’. I’m not a huge Cruise fan but he is very engaging in this fast-paced film that clips along at a cracking pace to a soundtrack of iconic late 70s to 80s hits. The hair and costumes are also 11/10.
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Battle of the Sexes is a film about gender equality, tolerance and tennis which sees Emma Stone as Billie Jean King challenged by Steve Carrell’s Bobby Riggs to a tennis match to prove that a 55-year-old male tennis champion can still easily beat the (much younger) best women tennis player currently on the professional circuit. The match occurs in the shadow of professional tournaments only offering prize money to women that is one-eighth of the men’s despite both circuits garnering equal ticket sales.
King ends up starting a new women’s tour with her agent (hilariously played by Sarah Silverman) and they slowly build up interest and sponsorship in their event. In an ironic it could only happen in the seventies twist, their key sponsor ends up being a cigarette company and the players are all encouraged to smoke as visibly as possible when promoting their game.
‘Battle of the Sexes’ also looks at the personal lives and demons of King and Riggs. For Riggs, it’s gambling and its devastating consequences on his marriage and family. King falteringly starts a relationship with her hairdresser which is tolerated by her husband on the account that both he and Marilyn will forever both be the ‘third wheels after tennis’ in King’s life.
Once again, like ‘American Made’, ‘Battle’ is a joy to watch because of the acting, soundtrack and costumes. Alan Cumming and Jessica McNamee were both instantly recognizable but also perfectly cast at King’s costume designer Ted Tinling and Margaret Court respectively.
Despite what we may think about how far our world has come in gender equality, the events in recent months in our world in 2018 are not that far removed from the challenges women and the gay community faced in the seventies.
How’s your week been?
Seen any good films recently?