Film Preview: Battle of the Sexes (2017)

Page Revisions:

(May 21, 2017) Original
(September 17, 2017) New Posters (#2-#4)

Release Date:

September 22, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.”

Poster Rating: C+ / C+ / C- / C-

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Review: (#1) An overly minimal design that has one nice central image, and a lot of ugly-colored blank space.

(#2) The ugly-colored blank space of the first design isn’t minimized enough here but it’s a lot more visually noticeable design this time around. (#3) If you know who the actors are and can recognize them under the makeup or if you recognize the characters, you might see something worth catching. The design, however, is unimpressive. (#4) Not a much more interesting design than the previous, leaving the question: who are they trying to appeal to?

Trailer Rating: B

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Review: While they’ve chosen wisely in terms of actors, the film feels a bit formulaic, though there are plenty of hints at some atypical elements, which could certainly make it worth while.

Oscar Prospects:

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed the Oscar-nominated Little Miss Sunshine. That alone should make this a prime Oscar contender. That the film stars last year’s Oscar winner Emma Stone and prior Oscar nominee Steve Carell should give anyone the sense that this could be a big Oscar player. Biopics are additionally popular, but the late-September release date does make one wonder if it will be a major player or a minor one. I suspect a handful of nominations, especially for Stone and Carell, but the film may not make big waves like Little Miss Sunshine did.