An inspiring biographical film about Richard Williams, the father and coach of famous tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, who was adamant about inscribing her daughters’ names in history with unwavering passion and remarkable intuition. The Williams family defies seemingly insurmountable difficulties and the expectations that have been placed before them. This is without a doubt one of the better sports dramas I’ve ever seen in recent years.

However, King Richard is a stunningly simple biography about a story that is anything but simple in context. The Williams’ story of how an African-American family from Compton took the predominantly white sport by storm is certainly worth watching, even if it does run a little long, thanks to some wonderful performances and a famous score.

It is a long film that attempts to portray an inspirational guy, yet he appears to be deeply damaged. His former family is only hinted at, but according to research, he did leave behind a family of five children who became the legend of the Williams sisters. His personality is pathologically dominating, in my opinion. His second wife is frequently put to the background.
When she finally gets around to giving him a full monologue, I believe she nails it in identifying it was more about him trying to be good enough. He looks down on the other tennis parents, but he is just as deceptive in his own way.

It’s a film that validates Smith’s ability to play these parental roles, as evidenced by his performance in “The Pursuit of Happiness.” King Richard pays homage to one of the great sporting legends without being cheesy, but I think that Will Smith’s performance outweighs the depth of the movie as a whole. Do yourself a favor though, and defininetly watch this. I believe it is past time for Will Smith to win that oscar this year.