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King Richard — now streaming on Netflix — is a sports-biodrama about Richard Williams, father-coach of tennis super-superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The BOATS movie (Based On A True Story, y’know) was a huge hit when it was released in theaters back in 2021, and won Will Smith his long-coveted Oscar statuette in March of 2022. And, well, you know what happened that night, right? The movie has been streaming for a few years now, but lands on Netflix for the first time here in March of 2024. Are Netflix subscribers ready to forgive and forget and put this movie in the Netflix Top 10, or does The Slap still sting?
The Gist: As Richard Williams, Will Smith speaks in a let’s-go-to-woik Loo-see-annah accent as he talks about being “in the champion-raising business.” He piles his five daughters into a VW bus and putt-putts them over to the nearest tennis court in their Compton neighborhood, where they sweep away the debris, hang handmade motivational posters and load tennis balls into an old shopping cart. All this, so Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) can further hone their swings, serves and stances, their three sisters acting as a cheering section and support network. When a local tough gang member harasses one of the girls, Richard stands up to him, knowing straight-up that he’ll take a beating — and that says a lot about who this man is. It says even more that he coaches his girls all day and works all night as a graveyard-shift security guard, where he sits at a desk with a pistol on his hip and a stack of tennis magazines to read. His wife, Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), shakes her head, questioning his ability to maintain such a tireless pace.
We soon surmise that Richard has everything going against him: He’s a Black man who’s trying to scale the towering walls surrounding a sport run by the rich white establishment. But he’s persistent, determined, unflappable and many other adjectives, although “annoying” isn’t quite one of them. He makes his own brochures and promo videos and comes off like a total nut, albeit a very shrewd, smart total nut. That careful balance puts him and Venus and Serena lightly trespassing courtside as Pete Sampras hits balls with John McEnroe, soon netting Sampras’ coach, Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) as Venus’ pro-bono mentor. But, you may ask, what about Serena? Well, Paul only has room for one more, so Richard videotapes Venus’ practices so Brandy can teach Serena the exact same stuff. Like I said, shrewd. Except for the open stance. Paul insists on a closed stance, but Richard insists on an open stance, and that’s that. It’ll soon be a recurring theme in this movie that Richard doesn’t lose arguments like this, even though he’s a nobody and everyone else is a somebody. But everyone else isn’t a wizard of the human condition like Richard.
Well, mostly. This isn’t a hagiography, and Richard is as flawed as anyone else. Yet his intentions are pure. As Venus works her way toward a 63-0 record on the juniors circuit — that’s wins and losses, and something that isn’t just Hollywood, in case you’re doubting it — with Serena quietly on her tail, Richard doesn’t let anything get to anyone’s head. After Venus scores another trophy, he interprets the girls’ celebratory mood as bragging, and makes them watch Cinderella when they get home, hoping they learn something about humility. Soon enough, Richard ditches Sampras’ coach — yes, this is all part of Richard’s plan — and brokers a deal with Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal), a Geraldo-mustached coach with a tennis-champion factory in Florida. Somehow, Richard scores himself a coaching job, and the whole family a permanent relocation to Orlando and a motorhome to get them there, all on Rick’s dime. Next thing you know, Venus is swatting balls back and forth with current No. 1 player Jennifer Capriati, and also, Richard is telling Rick that Venus is done with juniors and will only train at the facility, and that way she can still be a kid and focus on getting all As in school. This makes Rick turn beet-red, but Richard has weaseled in and taken the wheel, literally, because now he’s driving through the grounds on Rick’s favorite golf cart. Richard will go against the grain and do it his way and all those cliches, and since we all know how this turns out, it’s safe to say it’s the right way.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: You could make a mini film festival out of Will Smith sports movies: The Legend of Bagger Vance, Ali, Concussion.
Performance Worth Watching: King Richard is one of the rare occasions where Will Smith loses himself so fully in a character, we forget we’re watching Will Smith the Movie Star. It’s an overprotective-father role, but one with subtleties fueling the showy affectations — stooped shoulders, pursed lips, tight shorts, that heavy accent. This is next to Ali as Smith’s career-best performances; don’t be surprised when the Oscar nomination happens.
Memorable Dialogue: “This is where we hit the horn, we pop the corn, and when we pop it, we pop with extra butter, right? Bang!” — Rick Macci says shit like this all the time, yet still plays second fiddle to King Richard
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: You think you’re the gatekeeper? Richard Williams will show you who’s the gatekeeper. The primary takeaway from King Richard: Richard’s let’s-have-fun philosophy, which logically leads to his insistence on preserving his daughters’ highly vulnerable psychological well-being; he’s seen how young women get fried on the grueling juniors circuit, and he knows there has to be a better way. No matter how many times he’s a Complex Character who’s stubborn and argumentative and egotistical and a little shady and sometimes flat-out wrong, he gets one core thing right — he’s a parent first, and a coach second. That ends up being the film’s springboard for inspiration, in lieu of the usual rah-rah big-game breathless-sports-announcer-narration tension-and-release hoopla-fodder. There has to be a better way to tell an underdog sports story, and Green and Baylin pretty much find one.
And yet, this is far from an art film. It’s a mainstream crowdpleaser with a gigantic Will Smith performance so nobody will be surprised when the filmmakers employ musical montages, bits of family melodrama and lightly manipulative feelgood tones as narrative lubricant. Sidney and Singleton’s performances are secondary to Smith’s marquee hogging, but they aren’t beholden to precocious-kid tropes; they’re realistic young women in their mannerisms, their screen presence winning enough that we’d love to see them in a sequel about the next stage in Venus and Serena’s lives. Also notable is Bernthal, who develops comic chemistry with Smith — Macci is the flusteree to Richard’s flusterer, and they’re funny without making any overly broad strokes. Bottom line, King Richard runs smoothly and effectively, with more traits of a character drama than a biopic. We never get the impression that Richard, infallible as he often thinks he is, isn’t open to learning a little something himself.
Our Call: STREAM IT. King Richard gets the slick-production big-star sports-bio right, Slap or no Slap.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.
