We Can’t Stop Talking About ‘Challengers’

The buzzy new tennis film, featuring Zendaya, is pretty entertaining — but it's also missing a lot of substance.

For months, we’ve been getting full court press (pun intended) for “Challengers.” Originally slated for a fall 2023 release but delayed when writers and actors went on strike for more equitable working conditions, at long last, we have arrived at what is probably the buzziest movie so far this year.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, “Challengers,” according to social media, is the “Zendaya tennis love triangle (and maybe threesome?) movie.” (We’ll get into why this is reductive in a moment.)

The movie’s marketing has relied heavily on its star power: Zendaya stars as tennis phenom Tashi, alongside Josh O’Connor (“The Crown”) and Mike Faist (“West Side Story”) as Patrick and Art, two — let’s face it — deeply mediocre white men vying for her romantic attention. “Challengers” follows the trio from when they are promising teenage tennis players, through their college years, and into adulthood. There’s a lot going for it on paper: It’s the latest film from director Luca Guadagnino, known for his visually striking romances.

When HuffPost senior culture reporters Marina Fang, Taryn Finley and Candice Frederick initially convened to discuss “Challengers” out loud, we quickly realized we had so many thoughts to lob back and forth. So we took to the court for a long match.

Our Overall Impressions