From Muhammad Ali to Nelson Mandela, Will Smith is practically born to play larger-than-life figures. At first glance, you might not think he was the natural fit to play Richard Williams, the unsung hero who raised tennis champions Venus and Serena. Cast your doubts aside - the star’s big personality and natural charisma prove a worthy match for a man who knocked down doors in the tennis world. Conflicted between the pitfalls of fame and the struggles of normal life, it’s a role that Smith grabs with both hands.
King Richard traces the story of Venus (Saniyya Sydney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) from humble beginnings in Compton, California. Working security shifts by night, Richard (Smith) trains the girls himself at a second-rate tennis court, as the threat of gang violence looms gloomily in the background.
Armed with an 85-point plan (‘if you fail to plan you plan to fail’) and a lot of nerve, we watch as several rich white men turn their back on the chance to coach two promising African-American girls - “have you tried basketball?”. But Richard doesn’t let that stop him, eventually catching the attention of tennis coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) who is blown away by Venus and Serena’s talents.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the story appears to follow the course of a traditional crowd-pleasing sports movie, until it doesn’t. As the world begins to take notice of the rise of Venus, we’re treated to a fist-pumping montage of on-the-court whoopings that chart her rise to the top at junior level.
But this was never really a film about tennis. Zach Baylin’s thoughtful script places us in the well-worn tennis shoes of Richard as he wrestles with protecting the fate of his daughters, or letting them free to find their own happiness. Smith does a great job of selling this inner struggle, convincing both as the gentle father figure and the unwavering coach who refused to accept arrogance, or anything less than the best. Nailing Richard’s lisp and Louisiana accent, his knack for dropping jokes at inappropriate moments results in some of the biggest laughs of the film.
Despite a generous running time, this absolutely flies by. Part of this is down to the casting - the young cast who play the Williams daughters are a joy to be around. As well as capturing the carefree energy of growing up, Sydney and Singleton easily sell the drive and confidence of young women who know they are destined for great things. As the fast-talking tennis coach who has to play ball with Richard’s ever-growing demands, Jon Bernthal is a hilarious picture of exasperation. Aunjanue Ellis is also terrific in what could’ve been an underserved supporting role as Richard’s supportive wife, before knocking it out of the park in a vital scene late on.
As a result of the groundwork laid by its writing and cast, this is a film where every single emotional payoff feels earned. Case in point - the now viral moment where Richard berates an interviewer for questioning the confidence of a 14-year-old Venus should have you grinning from ear to ear.
Inspiring, heart-warming and full of impressive performances, King Richard is a grand slam of a movie.
Lovecraft Country’s original television soundtrack is available on vinyl via Waxwork Records. The score is composed by Laura Karpman (What If…?) and Raphael Saadiq (Insecure).
Priced at $48, the triple-LP album is pressed on 180-gram colored vinyl. It’s housed in a triple gatefold jacket with matte satin coating and art by El'Cesart and Sam Gilbey.
“Alex” – Alex finds herself in the middle of a congressional hearing to testify about the terrorist bombings. Convinced Elias didn’t act alone, she is determined to find answers and the truth. While back at Quantico, a new group of NATS join Alex and her classmates, causing tension and competition between the groups of trainees. View promo here //cdn.playwire.com/bolt/js/zeus/embed.js
When Quantico returns, don’t expect the ABC drama to reveal what happened immediately after that devastating second explosion in the midseason finale. Instead, star Priyanka Chopra says the drama will make a three-month time jump in the New York (a.k.a. future) timeline, during which Alex (Chopra) and those who survived must deal with the repercussions of the second bomb. “We come back a few…
When ABC’s hit drama Quantico debuted earlier this year, no one expected its fashion choices to turn heads. FBI agents? Not the most stylish of folks. But as the first season progressed, fans began to really notice those training uniforms. How the hell does everyone look so … sexy? As part of our year-end coverage, costume designer Sami Rattner explains how she turned a blue Henley shirt into a…
Attention Quantico viewers: This piece contains multiple spoilers. When Quantico, the hit ABC drama about a group of FBI recruits who find themselves mired in a terrorist plot, first premiered in September, Bollywood-watchers predicted it would make Indian actress Priyanka Chopra a household name this side of the Atlantic. While Chopra’s Alex Parrish has certainly wowed audiences, many viewers…
On Quantico Season 1 Episode 11, Elias revealed his part in the bombing after his attempt at framing Simon went sideways. Even though the FBI stopped the bomb in the hotel, it was only a distraction. The real threat was the bomb in the FBI command center. Below, TV Fanatics Liz Estey, Paul Dailly, and Allison Nichols weigh in on all the twists that the winter finale of Quantico threw at us… Do…
We will find out on Sunday and I’m sure the reveal will only lead into more questions than answers. Is it a recruit or perhaps their mentors? Perhaps someone we’ve seen a few times but isn’t a main character.
Be sure to follow @quanticoconfessions right away for anonymous confessions from various fans regarding the show, certain scenes, characters, etc. Submit a message of your theories and opinions and they’ll post on their blog! It’s a great way to spark conversation!
Anne Heche joins the NATs — and things get even more confusing.
By: DALENE ROVENSTINE
Although we will likely get our Who’s the Bomber? answer by next week’s midseason finale of Quantico, the answers don’t seem to be coming just yet. There was one person — Simon — who came out of this episode looking extremely guilty, but that has to be a red herring, right? Right? Or it actually IS Simon and the obvious red herring is just to throw us? Or it’s Shelby? Or Charlie?
Honestly, I think the Quantico writers are trying to throw so many suspects at us each week that we’ll miss the obvious one right in front of our faces. I wouldn’t be surprised if next week we find out it’s a janitor or some other fly-on-the-wall character we’ve never noticed who’s responsible for the bombings. Nimah did mention that the building services people helped keep the Twin Twist secret. Hmm. Before I go down a suspect hole I can’t crawl out of, let’s recap “Guilty.”
The Academy Tonight’s Lesson of the Week was brought to us by Anne Heche, who played Dr. Susan Langdon, a former FBI special agent who is now a forensic pathologist. She’s famous for writing a book about the “welfare mom” serial killer she caught. Her task for the NATs is to look at serial killer profiles and case files and find the one murder that doesn’t fit their profile.
All groups get their answers right, and Dr. Langdon tells them the real test is trying not to take home what they’ve seen. To help forget their feelings, she’s taking them out for drinks. And even though Simon tells her there must be another twist — that there were actually two fake murders in the files — Dr. Langdon says he just needs to keep it simple. Well, that was easy an easy lesson!
At the bar, the NATs are taking shots and playing the “serial killer” drinking game. (FBI agents must be a real hoot to hang out with.) Simon can’t let go that one of the victims in his file didn’t seem quite right. Dr. Langdon agrees to discuss it over a burger and fries, and she conveniently picks a booth that’s in a camera blind spot. He tells her what he really thinks happened to victim No. 9: Dr. Langdon framed the crime scene to look like the welfare mom killer and planted evidence, so she could finally arrest him.
On the flip side of that coin, though, it’s been Black women in the entertainment business who’ve said the most injurious things to her about queerness, with no regard for her sexuality. For reasons Ellis can’t quite put her finger on, people fail to recognize she’s part of the LGBTQ community.
“There is an assumption made of me — a presumption made of me. Is it because I’m a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I’m older?” she muses. “I don’t know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.”
On the flip side of that coin, though, it’s been Black women in the entertainment business who’ve said the most injurious things to her about queerness, with no regard for her sexuality. For reasons Ellis can’t quite put her finger on, people fail to recognize she’s part of the LGBTQ community.
“There is an assumption made of me — a presumption made of me. Is it because I’m a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I’m older?” she muses. “I don’t know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.”
AUNJANUE ELLIS on being bisexual “There is an assumption made of me — a presumption made of me. Is it because I’m a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I’m older? I don’t know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.” (Variety, Power of Pride Issue photographed by Michael Buckner, 2022)
