Emma Stone Takes On Steve Carell For Feminism And Laughs In ‘Battle Of The Sexes’ [Video]


Emma Stone and Steve Carell are coming together as opponents in a historically significant tennis match in Battle of the Sexes. Billed as exactly that, the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King (Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Carell) was just that and, as such, it turned out to be one of the most significant moments in the history of feminism, but, as Battle of the Sexes proves with its second trailer, there’s room for humor in any social movement.

Emma Stone Shines In The Second Battle Of The Sexes Trailer

As Collider shares, the release of a new trailer for Battle of the Sexes brings a focus on Emma Stone’s Billie Jean King as a tennis player, a woman, and a reluctant symbol of the feminist movement. In the start of the trailer, Steve Carell’s character calls King from a public telephone to challenge her to the ultimate tennis match, suggesting they can hype up the game by promoting it as a match between a male chauvinist and a feminist.

Ms. King declines, but, as the Battle of the Sexes trailer continues, scenes of Riggs’ bravado and sexism rubs Stone’s character the wrong way and far too often to be ignored. She eventually accepts the challenge, feeding a media frenzy for a battle of the sexes.

From this point, the trailer uses Aerosmith’s “Dream On” perfectly, giving Billie Jean King the perfect fight song for her upcoming match, one which she’s determined to win. A line spoken by Emma Stone in the Battle of the Sexes trailer sums up the planned tennis match perfectly, as far as what King had at stake.

“If I can’t beat Bobby Riggs, he’s never gonna let it go,” Stone says in the middle of the trailer.

In ‘Battle of the Sexes,’ Emma Stone plays tennis champion Billie Jean King. [Image by Fox Searchlight Pictures]

Billie Jean King Sacrificed It All To Face Off Against Bobby Riggs

While Battle of the Sexes does infuse the drama with comedic moments, /Film points to the movie as a retelling of the true events with as much authenticity as possible. It was an event that captivated the country and gave women a new hero, someone willing to stand up on national television and fight for equality. To do that, Billie Jean King had to be larger than life and, as this Battle of the Sexes trailer hints, she also had to be perfect.

There’s a pivotal moment in this trailer in which Emma’s character seems on the verge of following her heart. She wants to give into her feelings for Priscilla Wheelan (Elisabeth Shue), but she realizes there would be dire consequences. Instead, she takes a step back and shares her thought that a discovery that she was involved in a lesbian relationship would undermine her goals.

Steve Carell plays Bobby Riggs in ‘Battle of the Sexes’. [Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

In fact, the Battle of the Sexes trailer suggests that King had the foresight to know that the discovery of a gay relationship would be used to destroy her entire life. She would be humiliated on national television.

Instead, Billie holds fast to her course and becomes a symbol that the feminist movement can rally around in Battle of the Sexes.

Battle of the Sexes opens in theaters on September 22.

[Featured Image by Fox Searchlight Pictures]

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