Two cherubic girls in cornrows introduce themselves as Venus and Serena, before littering a posh tennis club with one perfect smash after another.
Most of us viewers will only know those names from the other side of their careers: after the Williams’ sisters have held the title of world No. 1 for a combined 327 weeks, and won 127 singles titles altogether.
King Richard tells the story of their upbringing under the hard but fair rule of their father, played by Will Smith in a role reminiscent of his self-sacrificing The Pursuit of Happyness character. In this case, we know his kids will turn into international sporting stars: but that won’t make their ambitious rise to the top any less riveting to watch on the big screen.
King Richard
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and executive produced by both Williams sisters, the origin story begins in 1994 Compton, California as Venus goes pro at age 14. Still a controversial figure in the world of tennis, Richard Williams is shown to be a driving force in his daughter’s careers, promoting them as “two Michael Jordans” after proudly pointing out the achievements of his three step-daughters too.
This looks like the ideal movie to see with your own stage parent/lil prodigy in the new year, especially if you both feel like squeezing out some tears as a family. In the trailer below, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) cries while promising not to let her dad down. “How could you?”, he sobs back. Hey, no crying in tennis!! Except for in heartfelt biopics like this, I guess…
Aunjanue Ellis has received acclaim as the girls’ mother Brandy, and Jon Bernthal is rocking the hell out of a thick moustache as star-making coach Rick Macci. Will Smith, of course, wears the crown as the film’s multi-faceted main character, allegedly commanding $40 million to play Richard Williams. He later gave away a bit of that whopping fee to his co-stars, once it was announced that King Richard would receive a hybrid cinematic and streaming release in the US.
Aussie tennis fans will have to head to cinemas in January to see this royal sports biopic—the coronation of two tennis queens, with all the fascinating off-court action and true family drama we’ve never heard.
