Sports – STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT

2021 Warner Bros. Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 24min

Biography ~ Drama ~ Sports ~ True Story

Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal.

Venus, Serena and a plan for greatness.

King Richard tells the inspiring true story of Richard Williams (Will Smith), a determined father living in Compton, California, who dreams of making his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) tennis superstars. Richard has a detailed 78-page plan for their success he wrote before they were born. He and his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), who works as a nurse, coach the girls tirelessly while juggling their full-time jobs. Richard works hard to find a professional coach for them, facing numerous rejections from the tennis community skeptical of the family’s background and financial situation.

Eventually, Richard finds coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), who agrees to train Venus but not Serena due to costs. As Venus begins to compete and succeed in junior tournaments, Serena secretly enters as well and also impresses. The family faces racism and exclusion in the predominantly white, upper-class sport. When offers from agents come in, Richard fears exploitation and pulls the girls out of the junior circuit, leading to tension with the coach and others who see this as risking their chances of turning pro.

Coach Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) later takes the family under his wing, leading them to move to Florida for better training opportunities. Richard insists the girls focus on school and training, avoiding early exposure to the pressures of junior competition. Venus expresses her desire to turn pro, causing some family conflict, but Richard eventually supports her. Despite initial struggles, Venus achieves wins in pro matches and attracts attention from major sponsors, with Serena following close behind.

Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) revolutionized women’s tennis and had an enormous impact on the sports world at large. Their achievements include a combined 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, three Olympic golds together, and a legacy as one of tennis’s most dominant sibling duos. Venus reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2002, becoming the first Black player to do so, while Serena has held the No. 1 spot for a record 319 weeks, one of the longest reigns in history.

Serena boasts 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era, and Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles crowns, including five Wimbledons. Their fierce rivalry and partnership broke racial and gender barriers, inspiring countless athletes and transforming the visibility and commercial appeal of women’s tennis globally. Their success symbolizes empowerment, resilience, and excellence, forever altering perceptions of Black women in sport and elevating women’s sports to new heights of public attention and respect.

This is truly an amazing story and movie well acted by Will Smith and the rest of the cast. I have to say that I have had the opportunity to watch this in the past but bypassed it because of the infamous Oscar Slap. I was on my own little Will Smith boycott even though this movie came out before the infamous Oscar affair. When I saw it had just come back to Netflix I decided to give it a watch because of the True Story and Underdog aspect. Those are two of my favorites, the True Stories and The Underdogs who, seemingly against all odds, emerge victorious and come out on top.

Richard had a 78 page plan he wrote out for his two daughters before they were born, detailing every aspect of their lives. How they were going to achieve greatness as tennis players, how they were going to conduct themselves as human beings and he never let doubt or their seemingly insurmountable obstacles of environment, race and gender sway their belief for a second. Even when he battled the violence of the local gangs that threatened his life. Even when everybody told him it couldn’t be done.

Richard Williams, through sheer perseverance, unwavering belief and steadfast determination, raised his daughters to be successful sports prodigies that succeeded beyond anybody’s wildest imaginations, (But Richard’s) and changed the course of Women’s Sports and the world of Tennis forever. It is a testament to the Human spirit and a Prime example of believing in your dreams and willing them into fruition. This is a good one and you should watch it even if, like me, you were on your own Will Smith Boycott.

I saw a video where he was promoting this movie and talked about how he doesn’t make movies anymore to make money. His only objective is to make movies that help and inspire other human beings in some way, it was the reason he made this movie. I personally feel like that is such a wonderful and admirable way of giving back after all his success. After watching this movie and learning that about Will Smith, I have decided to put aside my temporary boycott due to the Oscars fiasco. We all have our moments that we are not proud of, where life forced us to be shown at our worst. Time to let go, live and let live.

Do yourself an inspirational favor and watch this movie, and remember the Will Smith who makes movies like these to inspire and lift us all up………..

2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 4min

Biography ~ Drama ~ Sports

Directed by: William Goldenberg

Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Anthony Robles, Jennifer Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle.

“My Spirit is Unconquerable…..I don’t care what’s probable. Through Blood, Sweat and Tears, I am Unstoppable.”

This movie tells the true story of Anthony Robles, born without a right leg, from Mesa, Arizona. He was raised by his mother who encouraged him to stand tall and be himself in spite of his handicap. Constantly pushing himself to be better and overcome his handicap, he discovered a passion for wrestling in high school. Striving to excel he rises up to become a force to be reckoned with on the mat, in spite of the struggles of his life. His step father was abusive and never supported Anthony emotionally, constantly demeaning him and his passion for wrestling. Things in the household became very tense and eventually his stepfather left the family. Leaving Anthony and his mother to pay the bills and take care of his three brothers and sister.

Anthony becomes very good at wrestling and wins two State Championships in his Junior and Senior year, and one in his senior year. After High School he attends Arizona State and works his way into the Wrestling Program against all odds. He became nationally ranked and won many Championships. The underdog who had a dream against all odds to be a wrestler in spite of his handicap. And comes out on top having risen above all the obstacles in his life, and seemingly insurmountable odds, to become a Champion and Hero to so many. It is the kind of story that makes you jump out of your chair and yell, “Hell yes!”. (Think Rocky)

Jharrel Jerome plays Anthony in the movie. They wrapped his right leg in a green sock, and he wore a green clog on his right foot, so they could edit it out in post production. I wondered how they made his leg disappear for the movie. Anthony Robles played actor and stunt double in the wrestling scenes, and also produced the movie along with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Kudos to all of them for a job well done. Jennifer Lopez plays Anthony’s mother Judy Robles and does an excellent job of it. Bobby Cannavale plays Rick Robles, Anthony’s step father and father to his brothers and sister. Good job at playing a real asshole, what a jerk! You want to step on screen and whoop his ass in front of the whole family!

Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle play Anthony’s coaches in High School and college, respectively. They were very instrumental in encouraging Anthony and helping in his success. It was good to see both of these actors in these roles and I thought they did an outstanding job. There are a few scenes where Anthony is in Philadelphia and climbs the same steps as Rocky, and stands in Rocky’s footsteps. I found myself rooting hard for Anthony Robles, not wanting to see him fail. But when he did, hoping he would get back up and fight harder. And when he did, cheering him on with every fiber of my being…GO ANTHONY GO!!!!

The Movie is based on Anthony’s 2012 Autobiography Unstoppable. It is a great movie, some of my favorite themes rolled into one fantastic feel good movie. The underdog coming out on top against seemingly insurmountable odds, and an Incredible True Story. I love the True Story Movies the best, and I love this one.