King Richard

It is agood movie, but MAN! I hated Richard Williams, he is so maddening that I just wanted him to shut up. I kand of understand why he was like that, after all he suffered a lot. The most comic part was when he told his daughters that one day they'd buy a lot of beds and wouldn't have to share beds with their sisters (and I thought, well if you hadn't had FIVE daughters living with not enough money they wouldn't have had to share beds).

The first half is really fun, the second half (pretty much as soon as Jon Bernthal enters the film) gets a little more dramatic. Will Smith makes the film. He’s not playing the smooth fresh prince, instead this a very nuanced, complex character and you’re not sure how to feel about him until the end. The cinematography is great (looks a lot like _Straight Outta Compton_) and the performances are all impressive. But, you can kinda see a better movie lingering in the background, and it’s mostly because the film doesn’t want to commit to challenging the viewer too much. Is it alright to use your kids as a way to lift your whole family out of poverty? What should we do to make sure that impoverished kids get the chance to develop a talent they have? These questions are in the film, and I’d say they’re all very interesting and relevant, but they’re never brought to the foreground. I also wanted to know a little more on how Selena and Venus look back on their father now. So it’s very good, despite playing it a little safe in places. 7.5/10