‘King Richard’ must see or save your coin?
“King Richard,” directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, is a biopic of Venus and Serena Williams’ father who showed grit and determination to make sure these renowned tennis players flourished.
This was my first time seeing a film in person since the start of the pandemic. I went to the Century Arden 14 and XD theater on Nov. 27 with my older sister and Cosumnes River College’s Umoja Diop Scholars program.
Not only was this my first time seeing a movie in person, but it was my first time at this specific theater.
When I first entered, I noticed how spacious the lobby was. Unlike other theaters, we weren’t stacked on top of each other like roaches.
It wasn’t until my sister, the Umoja coordinator and I went to the concession stand for popcorn, that I figured out there was more to this theater than meets the eye. I was too in awe to take into account that we were indeed, standing at the wrong counter.
There were multiple concession counters, including one that had a Starbucks that served Dreyer’s ice cream. As for the other ones, there was popcorn and typical movie theater snacks.
As per usual, the candy and pre-packaged ice cream were self-serve.
Entering the auditorium, we found our reserved seats which were luxury recliners. I’m so glad we had recliner seats because “King Richard” was extraordinarily long.
Topping the average time of 90 to 100 minutes, this film was two hours and 24 minutes.
Those two hours were well worth it because Will Smith (“Men In Black”), who played Richard Willliams, had me falling out of my seat.
Although the film was focused on drama and sports, which I’m not the biggest fan of, its comedic undertones made up for it.
What really caught my attention was the end of the movie. The original home videos that were incorporated into the film were shown.
The makers of the film weren’t playing games. The recreation of the home videos were down to a T.
Looking at the props in the film made me want to pick up a tennis racket and go play tennis myself. One of the props that was used was a sign that the actual Richard Williams had in his possession back in the day.
The sign posted on the wall of the Compton tennis court read, “IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL.”
Richard Williams wasn’t messing around with his plans that were set in stone for his daughters.
He made a 78-page outline before Venus and Serena were even born.
He told Venus she’d be number one and later he let Serena know she’d be the greatest of all time.
Throughout the film, Richard did things that were commendable.
From the moment his character stepped on screen, he embodied perseverance and tenacity for the success of Venus and Serena.
At the beginning of the film, Richard intentionally pops up out of the blue at private tennis clubs, to convince top coaches to train his daughters. Even at the expense of his pride and dignity, he continued to go on this pursuit after constantly being rejected.
Not only that, but he goes on to train his daughters regardless of threats from Compton gang members.
To add to that, he kept hope alive by showing Venus and Serena their dream homes.
Hope lived, because that 78-page outline led to legendary tennis players. Venus Williams is formerly No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and is considered the greatest of all time in women’s tennis.