Potential sponsors looked upon Richard Williams (Will Smith) as just another tennis-father, a man whose pride and determination blinded him to the likelihood his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) had a better chance of managing a Dick’s Sporting Goods than they did becoming the reigning Queens of the clay court. Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (Monsters and Men, Joe Bell) biopic is more interesting off the court than on. After enduring countless pummelings while trying to dissuade a gangbanger from making salacious comments concerning his underage daughter, fate has a way of settling the score in a most fortuitous and unforeseen manner. The film adopts a unique take on the sports biopic, focusing less on the athlete and more on the coach, in this case the girls' father who in his mind had a surefire plan for success. Proudly unaware of all things sports, it didn’t take a tennis savant to quickly catch on that Serena was going to ace every match. So much for kicking dramatic suspense out of bounds. And what chance was there of an unvarnished portrait with the subject alive, his daughters producing, and the most beloved actor this side of Tom Hanks playing him? Still, this held my interest far more than I feared. (2021) — Scott Marks
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