Just finished it and really enjoyed it. Definitely didn't feel like 2.5 hours. Entertaining, engaging, and pretty well-acted. It had that great "sports movie" feel of these-feel-like-really-high-stakes-but-not-really-because-it's-a-sports-movie going on.

A good watch.

Loved it. Will rewatch with my daughter for sure.

Went in very reluctantly (wife chose it). Had my phone out ready to chart some stocks but got sucked in from the opening monologue. Enjoyed the entire freaking thing.

I though something was off about Will Smiths voice portrayal until I heard the real dad at the end. Then I just realized that he did a fantastic job but didn't have quite the right tone of voice to match.

Anyone watch woth kids? I have a 12 and 17 year old.

100% safe. I don't even recall any bad language. I'll watch with my 8 year old. Only reason I can think that it's pg-13 is there is some mild violence (fist fight, a shooting that happens very quickly shown from a distance).

Yeah, folks are definitely going to use this film however they need to to justify what they already wanted to do when it comes to pushing their kids towards athletic achievements.

jeffk said:

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Yeah, folks are definitely going to use this film however they need to to justify what they already wanted to do when it comes to pushing their kids towards athletic achievements.

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I see it no differently than Tiger Woods and his dad or some of these hyper gymnast moms

Oh, it's definitely not a unique or novel approach to parenting. It's interesting to have a feature film trumpeting the positive outcomes of that style though.

jeffk said:

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Oh, it's definitely not a unique or novel approach to parenting. It's interesting to have a feature film trumpeting the positive outcomes of that style though.

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$

Ditto.

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Tanya 93 said:

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jeffk said:

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Yeah, folks are definitely going to use this film however they need to to justify what they already wanted to do when it comes to pushing their kids towards athletic achievements.

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I see it no differently than Tiger Woods and his dad or some of these hyper gymnast moms

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For every success story movie there is this great movie...

SteveA said:

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Anyone watch woth kids? I have a 12 and 17 year old.

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Just be aware there are a couple of N-bombs. Once used by the local gang at the tennis court and then again later in the argument with his wife.

It is definitely a great movie, but it was not the portrayal of Richard Williams that I remembered from the 90s and early 00s. After watching I looked up the accuracy of the movie, and it turns out that it is very accurate in that no events are made up. However, it also leaves out a lot of details.

**** Minor Spoilers *****

He did in fact take a shot gun and go look for a gang member harassing him, only to find the guy was already shot (he didn't actually see it, just saw him already dead).

After finding out how good the girls were, the local gang did "protect the court" for them.

He did force them to play in the rain, and had the police called on him because he was being too hard on them.

**** Stuff that was glossed over ****

They barely mention that he had an entirely other family that he walked out on.

His coaching methods were probably a bit extreme, including putting broken glass on the court to prevent the girls from backing up.

Still, though, even with it being an overly sympathetic movie, it's really good, and I plan on watching it with my son (who plays tennis).

Oh, and another thing they glossed over... The craziness of tennis parents. Not as bad as dance moms, but I've seen some pretty messed up stuff out there. Not just directed at their own kids, either. I've seen parents trash talk 8 year old opponents, or complain that their kids double partner isn't good enough, right in front of the kid.

helloimustbegoing said:

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Sports parents tend to be hailed as giving "tough love" and being "disciplinarians" when their kids do well. When their kids have meltdowns and grow to hate the sport they used to love, the parents are "cruel" and "trying to live out their own sports dreams."

For every Venus/ Serena/Tiger there's a 100,000 Todd Marinoviches, and ones that start hating the sport way before that.

Whatever you think of her, and clearly many of you think little, Serena Williams, if not the greatest female tennis player of all time, is at least in the top 2 or 3. How much that has to do with her dad, I don't know, but it's certainly easier to write the story when you know the ending is all titles and big prize money.

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My theory, with only anecdotal evidence, is that a parent who forces a sport on a kid with no talent, can basically get their kid to a varsity high school player. As you add basic athletic talent, the ceiling begins to rise. A decent athlete with strong parental backing can get you to a D1 college scholarship. A good athlete with a strong parent can get you a shot at the pros, etc.

The inverse is also true. A kid with all the athletic ability in the world, will probably top out as a high school player unless they have a parent doing some basic work to ensure they are practicing, etc. As much as we love the "this kid came from nothing and did it on his own" story, I believe you will almost always find a parent behind them doing some level of sacrifice to get the kids in the right camps or right programs.

When the rare occasion occurs where you have a kid with all the talent in the world who meets a crazy ass parent willing to go to extreme measures to push their kid, that's when you end up with the greatest of all time. Your Serena Williams and Tiger Woods. The parents weren't always as crazy as Richard Williams, or Andre Agassi's dad, but you never find an all time great who didn't have some sort of parental figure (not necessarily their biological parent) pushing them.

I look at it as a good thing that I have no experience with either the sports that my son had put significant effort into - wrestling and hockey. Because of that I do no parent-coaching of him, just sit back and enjoy watching and throw in some general life advice when needed (facing adversity, etc).

You wouldn't believe the number of parents that would stand right outside the wrestling circle yelling directions at their poor, confused 8yr old kid who's literally crying while trying to wrestle because he's new to the sport and facing competition and "combat" for the first time in his life.

yeah, me and my coaching experience says "no way in hell" either.

Just curious about those saying I am wrong, are you saying that a parent can not will their child to get to a high school level? Or are you saying they can will them to be better than that?

And just to be clear, I'm not talking about a parent who says, "I like baseball, I want my kid to be a baseball player" and then just signs them up for a league even though the kid hates it. I'm talking the kind of parent that gets their kid up at 6 AM to take them to the batting cages every morning before school, hires a private coach, flies them across the country to tournaments, etc. Basically, gets their 10,000 hours in before the kid reaches high school. Regardless of athletic ability, I don't see how that kid would not at least be a varsity athlete at a basic high school program.

I just added an edit to my last post. I think you are underestimating what I say is a crazy parent. I doubt many people have run into a Richard Williams or Earl Woods type parent. We see a parent yell their kid and think, "That's a crazy parent!" Andre Agassi's dad tied ping pong paddles to his kids hands at the age of 1 and stared throwing balls at him. At age 6, he was hitting thousands of balls a day. The Williams sisters weren't allowed to leave the court until they hit 500 volleys.

If you took a kid at the age of 4, and start making him shoot 1000 shots a day, and you do that every day for 10 years, there's no way that kid gets cut from the Freshman team. Regardless of athletic ability, he's going to be able to shoot. Shear work ethic is going to mask the athletic inability by the time they reach high school.

Sounds like I need to get to work. How soon can I get my son throwing weighted balls? 18 months?

AustinAg2K said:

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Just curious about those saying I am wrong, are you saying that a parent can not will their child to get to a high school level? Or are you saying they can will them to be better than that?

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Risking a huge thread derail, but a lot of people misconstrue talent and skill. Talent is largely inherent and there has to be a baseline present to be successful at anything. Skill can be taught/learned. So if I kid has a decent baseline of talent, you can, through practice, help them develop the skills necessary to become a successful player. If there is "no talent" present in a child, you can't "will" them into being successful because they won't be able to pick up the skills needs to avoid being cut or passed up by the other kids with some talent. It seems like a triffling difference, but it's really quite important and there's a great deal of research in just that area.