'King Richard' puts Will Smith on center court as Venus and Serena's dad
CNN
Stage parents seldom fare well in movies and TV, but "King Richard" bucks that trend, placing Will Smith on center court in an overwhelmingly flattering portrait of tennis patriarch Richard Williams. Smith aces the performance, which is the main attribute in elevating the story above the standard sports-movie conventions.
The film actually follows a fairly concentrated stretch in the formative years of Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) under the watchful eye and tutelage of their father Richard, who speaks frequently of the 78-page plan he mapped out for conquering the nearly all-White tennis world before they were old enough to hold a racquet.
"I'm in the champion-raising business," Williams announces as he makes the rounds looking for a coach, met with dismissive and vaguely racist replies, including "You ever think about basketball?"
