“King Richard,” released Friday, has earned its place as one of the all-time great inspirational sports movies as a story about the man behind the greatness of Venus and Serena Williams. The film focuses on the early days of the sisters’ road to superstardom.
Richard Williams, played by legendary actor Will Smith in a career-defining performance worthy of the Oscar buzz it’s generating, will stop at no costs to ensure his daughters get out of the rough environment they’re surrounded by in Compton through reaching tennis greatness.
The story is based almost entirely on fact. Richard Williams made a 78-page manifesto of how two girls from Compton — Venus and Serena Williams — would reach the ranking of No. 1 tennis player in the world (a temporary ranking) and the greatest player of all time, respectively. The manifesto is mentioned throughout the movie as Richard Williams essentially predicted and planned the remarkable career paths of the globally iconic Williams sisters.
The defining characteristics of Richard Williams are his determination to help his daughters succeed at all costs and his unwillingness to give up in the face of doubt. A constant throughout the film is his willingness to take his daughters to the tennis courts of 1980s Compton even in the pouring rain.
The senior Williams is beaten by gang members, who harass him and his girls regularly, but continues to keep showing up for his girls to play tennis in his efforts to raise his daughters right. One of the most powerful arcs of the film is how several gang members go from beating up Richard Williams to respecting his continued determination to have his daughters play tennis so they don’t end up on the streets.
They even grow to respect Williams and his paternal efforts so much that they begin acting as free security to protect the family as the Williamses bring new coaches to the courts. This leads to another one of the film’s most inspirational arcs: Richard helping Venus and Serena become successful in a sport that generally requires financial resources the Williams family didn’t have.
Richard Williams had tapes of Venus and Serena as he would drive across the country to every prestigious tennis club in America he could — especially the ones the most famous pros played at, which were also the least likely to take him seriously, as they often didn’t. One person Richard approached even said it was like he was preaching that he had “the next two Mozarts in his family.” Williams’ charming personality and charismatic nature, reflected by Smith’s riveting performance, is hard to resist both for audiences and characters in the movie.
In a scene tennis fans will love, Williams shows up at a prestigious club where legendary tennis players John McEnroe and Pete Sampras are being coached by Paul Cohen. As the two superstars take a break, Williams barges onto the court with his daughters to ask them if Venus and Serena can quickly show Cohen how good they are. Cohen is particularly blown away with Venus, the elder of the sisters, and agrees to become her first coach.
However, this coaching relationship doesn’t last long. Richard Williams is determined that he and his girls stick to his plan, which includes a disagreement over Venus keeping her signature open stance that Cohen wanted her to ditch. It’s a scene that shows the guts and determination that allow Richard Williams to keep persisting in the face of naysayers. It’s part of what makes this film so inspirational, along with the generational work ethic and talent of Venus and Serena Williams.
It’s truly incredible how Richard planned his daughters’ success to a tee, but the film also highlights how this occasionally causes him to be too firm and rigid with them. In one scene, Williams ditches his daughters at a convenience store to teach them a lesson in humility for their bragging in the car ride home after a victory.
It’s only after Richard’s wife Oracene Price, the mother and fellow coach of Venus and Serena, tells Richard he’s being too harsh on them that he goes back before making them watch Cinderella at home to continue their lesson on humility by showing them Disney’s signature values.
Later, Williams approaches Rick Macci, who looks like he got stuck in the 1970s with his bushy moustache and short shorts in a role played by Jon Bernthal, to be Venus’ next coach and Serena’s first coach as the girls continue to build their budding careers. In a scene that is sure to be quoted for years to come, Macci says to the senior Williams, “I think you might have the next Michael Jordan,” to which Williams confidently responds, “Oh no, brother man. I gots me the next two.”
At one point, Macci even accuses Richard of being more focused on himself than his daughters. Richard doesn’t want Venus to play in Juniors yet because that’s not part of their plan, and he feels it’s putting too much pressure on her. But after an emotional conversation with Venus, he gives her permission to play Juniors at 14 years old.
“The next step you’re about to take, you’re not gonna just be representing you. You’re gonna be representing every little Black girl on Earth,” Richard says to Venus in a touching scene featuring Smith’s expertly-executed Richard Williams impersonation at the forefront.
Venus beats the No. 1 tennis player in the world at the time, Jennifer Capriati, as the movie concludes on an inspirational note about how Richard’s plan for the girls came true — displayed with some real-life footage of the real Richard Williams during Venus and Serena’s career and growing up years. The movie ends on an inspiring note, which is a constant theme throughout the movie and fits with its description as “based on a true story that will inspire the world.” The Williams family truly represents a story you will have to see to believe.