King Richard

Year: 2021

Actors: Will Smith, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott

Duration: 144 min

Richard Williams (Will Smith) lives in Compton, California, with his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), his three stepdaughters (Tunde Price (Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew), Isha Price (Danielle Lawson) & Lyndrea Price (Layla Crawford)), and his two daughters, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Richard aspires to turn Venus and Serena into professional tennis players; he has prepared a plan for success since before they were born. Richard and Brandy coach Venus and Serena on a daily basis, while also working as a security guard and a nurse, respectively. Richard works tirelessly to find a professional coach for the girls, creating brochures and videotapes to advertise their skills, but has not had success. Most professional coaches don't take Richard seriously and keep turning him down.Mrs. Strickland (Erika Ringor) is their neighbor who feels that Richard works the girls too hard. Richard tells her not to speak to his kids again. Brandy knows that they can't keep up this pace of having full time jobs and coaching the girls in between. The girls need a full-time coach.Richard finds Vic Braden (Kevin Dunn) info from a magazine and asks him to coach the girls for free, but Vic says that nobody is taking that bet. Vic says that it takes years of practice just to hold the racket right. And the odds of grand slam success are astronomically slim. A nigger hoodlum named Roc was harassing Tunde and wont back off despite Richards telling him that she is only 16 and not interested in him. Roc continues to pursue Tunde and even assaults Richard. Richard decides to shoot Roc but finds that he has been killed in a drive-by shooting.One day, Richard takes the girls to see coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), who is in the middle of practicing with John McEnroe (Christopher Wallinger) and Pete Sampras (Chase Del Rey). Despite his initial reservations, he agrees to watch the girls practice, and is impressed. However, the Williamses cannot afford professional coaching, and Paul refuses to coach both girls for free; he selects Venus to receive his coaching, while Serena continues to practice with Brandy. Richard records all of Venus's sessions and plays then for Serena, so she can learn. Richard has several disagreements with Paul. Richard favors an open hitting style, while Paul coaches Venus to play with a closed stance to get more power in her shots.Paul encourages Venus to participate in junior's tournaments. Paul says that juniors get players noticed by agents, who can get sponsors, which can pay for the coaching and the training. She quickly finds success, but Richard stresses to Venus and her sisters that they should remain humble despite their success. At one of Venus's tournaments, Serena also signs up to play, unbeknownst to Richard. As both girls continue to succeed, the family are treated as outsiders among the predominantly white, upper-class competition. Richard meets with high-profile agents (George MacArthur (Dylan McDermott) & Laird Stabler (Andy Bean)), but, fearing that his daughters will be taken advantage of (They offer $100K / year for training and tournaments and Richard knows that the girls are worth a lot more than that), pulls them out of the junior circuit entirely. Paul warns him that his decision will destroy the girls' chances to turn pro, but Richard stands firm, firing Paul as coach.Richard calls Coach Rick Macci (who coached Capriati) to come and see the Williams girl play. Coach Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) travels to California to see the girls play. Impressed, he takes the girls on (He will pay all expenses, but will take 15% of all future earnings), and the family relocates to Florida (which is part of Richard's demand from Rick) to train at his facility. Richard surprises Rick by reiterating that the girls will not play juniors, instead training and attending school like normal little girls. In the ensuing three years, questions arise from the media and from Rick about Richard's strategy with the girls and his desire for media exposure.Venus tells Rick that she wants to turn pro. Richard reluctantly agrees, but later reneges, worrying that she will suffer a similar fate to Rick's pupil Jennifer Capriati (Jessica Wacnik), who is allegedly suffering from burnout and has been arrested for drug possession. The decision strains Richard's relationships with Venus, Brandy, and Rick. After an argument with Brandy, he reconciles with Venus, agreeing to let her play in the upcoming Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California. Before the tournament, the family meets with a Nike executive, who offers them a major sponsorship deal worth 3 million dollars. Rick urges them to accept, but the family collectively agrees to decline, believing that once Venus begins to play, she will attract more lucrative offers.Venus initially struggles in her first professional match against Shaun Stafford (Kaitlyn Christian), but eventually triumphs. She comes in as a heavy underdog in her next match against top seeded Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (Marcela Zacarías). Venus takes the first set and leads in the second before Vicario takes an extended bathroom break (more than 15 mins), an apparent act of gamesmanship to ice Venus. Sánchez Vicario recovers to win the second set and the match. Richard and Brandy comfort a dejected Venus, telling her to be proud. As the family leaves the stadium, a large crowd of supporters is waiting to cheer her on, and Rick tells Richard that several major shoe companies are anxious to meet with Venus.An epilogue reveals that nine months later, at the age of 15 Venus would sign a contract with Reebok for $12 million (equivalent to $22,000,000 in 2021). She would go on to win Wimbledon five times and become the first African American woman to be ranked number one in the world during the Open Era. Serena, who joined Venus as a professional two years later, would become a 23-time Grand Slam champion and considered by many to be the greatest female player in tennis history.

Genre: Action   Biography   Drama   Sport