Will Smith wowed me in ‘King Richard’
He gave such a beautiful, real performance as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams. I typically am not a fan, but he escaped himself in this one, for the first time ever, and nailed his performance. Watch the film and then watch interviews with Richard, he nailed it.
His performance isn’t the only great one in this, however. Aunjanue Ellis gives a wonderful performance as Oracene Williams, the mother. She was tremendous throughout, and gives an amazing Supporting Performance.
The ending, which beautifully recreated the the famous Oakland’s Bank of the West Classic tournament against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario where Williams lost after having a massive lead, moved me to tears. After the match Williams is consoled by her parents, and then while leaving is met with a huge crowd of fans cheering for the underdog.
The film is resilient, and shows a rare depiction of a Black Father who pushes his children for greatness and is very involved in their lives and is willing to do anything to help them succeed and not be stereotypes. I also love that the film focuses on Venus, as she is the sister who paved the way, Serena followed. Venus is constantly overlooked for her sister, who is considered much greater (and is paid much more).
It is on HBOMax, give it a watch.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | February 16, 2022 11:56 PM
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Will is definitely getting an Oscar nod. It may also get a Best Picture, but I don’t know what else it would be nominated for, although I do want the mother/wife to be nominated. She was terrific.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 26, 2021 9:51 PM
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Will Smith will get his first Oscar and be on his way to EPCOT. He just needs the Toni.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 26, 2021 9:59 PM
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I agree it'll get a Best Picture nod, r3
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 2, 2021 4:03 PM
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Will Smith greatly annoyed me in this movie. I loved Tony Goldwyn, Jon Bernthal, and the wonderful actress who played the mother. Those three were the only ones who really “got” the assignment and seemed like fully fleshed-out REAL people.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 2, 2021 4:18 PM
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I had an equal and opposite reaction to the drek.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | December 2, 2021 4:36 PM
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Actually Will nailed the father and even sounded just like him. He even nailed this interview when the father gets upset with the interviewer.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 2, 2021 7:00 PM
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[quote] Oracene Williams
How obscene?
Does that word have a meaning in another language?
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | December 2, 2021 7:32 PM
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The name of this film offends me
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 2, 2021 7:53 PM
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Just saw this and loved Will and the actress who played his wife.
One quibble: in the climactic match, the announcers and scoreboard called her opponent “Vicario.” As a tennis fan, I only recall her being called “Sanchez Vicario.” How could they get that wrong?
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | February 13, 2022 8:27 AM
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Agree 100% with OP.…and I loathe Will Smith.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | February 13, 2022 8:41 AM
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From Wikipedia:
Williams has been married three times. After moving to California, he met Betty Johnson. They married in 1965 and had five children (three sons and two daughters) before divorcing in 1973:[2] Sabrina, Richard III, Ronner, Reluss, and Reneeka, who were also raised with Betty's other daughter, Katrina.[9]
In 1979, he met Oracene "Brandy" Price, who had three daughters by her then deceased husband. They married in 1980. Williams and Price had two biological daughters, Venus (born June 17, 1980) and Serena (born September 26, 1981). The family resided in Compton, California. Richard and Oracene divorced in 2002.
He raised public interest again after his divorce from Oracene Price and appearances with new girlfriend Lakeisha Juanita Graham who was a grocery store owner[10] and is a year older than Venus.[4] In 2010, Richard and Lakeisha were married and their son Dylan was born in 2012.[11] They later divorced in 2017.[12][10]
Its unfortunate that they glossed over the fact he had a wife and five kids that he pretty much abandoned before marrying Serena and Venus' mom. I hate it when real life stories are glossed over and made into fairy tales.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | February 13, 2022 8:42 AM
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Me too. The bastard was a bum.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 13, 2022 10:51 AM
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I was surprised they didn’t mention at the end that one of the sisters, Yetunde (“Tunde”) was subsequently murdered.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | February 13, 2022 3:33 PM
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