“Challengers”- I just got out of it and… it’s fucking AWESOME!
There was a point midway into the movie where I thought to myself, “this movie is fucking awesome”, and it is, for the most part.
The writing is strong and “tightly knitted”, as I like to call it. There aren’t tons of subplots etc like can happen with movies like this. There is one focus and the film remains focused on that from start to end, and that is these 3 character’s relationship.
Zendaya is a fucking force. I think she’s talented but she surprised me in this. She is manipulative and a boss bitch and bodyslams the role. Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor are both amazing as Art and Patrick, and their chemistry is off the charts. I personally LOVED Josh as Patrick. He was soooo good as the no-good asshole who women still feel drawn to, but he’s the guy you fuck, not marry. Art is the opposite. Very boring for Tashi and her lapdog, as opposed to Patrick who she gets into arguments with and goes head to head with her, which seems to turn her on. The score is brilliant. It’s a character of its own in this film.
The film is fun and energetic. There is so much energy you can feel it.
There is a scene where we finally meet Tashi in the past (the first time the boys see her play in person) that got me excited. When she walks out music starts bumping and it’s pure energy. Zendaya looked so beautiful in this. There are a few salacious scenes and some people in the theater reacted. You could hear “omg Zendaya!” like people were genuinely shocked to see her straddling a man. It was funny but makes sense as she has such a clean image and always plays teens.
There are two moments I disliked, one being the way the film ended. Just no. And two, the scene with Tashi and Patrick in the wind storm. I thought the scene was cool until it went all weird. But besides that, amazing.
There are a lot of homoerotic undertones in this from early in the film and I don’t see many straight men liking this unless with their girlfriends or cinephiles. That’s one of the things I liked about the film too. You could feel that atmosphere without actually seeing anything like that happen. It was interesting.
Honestly, I would give it a 4/5. It’s awesome but that ending was a no for me and it started to become too stylistic toward the end.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 1, 2024 2:52 PM
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Did we need another thread on this?
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 25, 2024 11:39 PM
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If Tashi Duncan was a real celeb the gays would worship her. Loved this movie!
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 26, 2024 12:02 AM
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It's truly insane, and I loved it. Who are they marketing this ridiculous tennis, love triangle, homoerotic tale staring Zendaya to? It's deep camp, but sort of takes itself seriously. I honestly don't know how to describe it. From the Pray Tell line judge, to the club music slow-mos when drama is about to go down, to the hail storm of tennis-as-life philosophizing, to the sweaty bare skin and asses and dicks (well not that many dicks, but still), to that absurd ending sequence. Plus, Mary Jo, Patrick McEnroe, Chris Fowler commentary cameos. I wasn't doing a ton of cackling, just consistently grinning and asking "what the fuck is this?" - in a good way.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 26, 2024 4:35 AM
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In more important news, I suspect OP is very poor and lives in a shit hole of an apartment. He should also invest in some cuticle cream, a manicure, and start wearing moisturizing gloves at night to stave off old lady hand syndrome.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 26, 2024 5:42 AM
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It’s a very fun movie.
R4 it’s a movie aimed at young adults, obviously.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 26, 2024 12:49 PM
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[quote]They have a close, playful friendship, but I did not sense any homoeroticism, that is, no lingering looks or gentle touches or anything else that would lead me to believe there was some unrequited feelings between the two.
Are you Helen Keller r90? When they kiss each other for the first time they get so caught in that moment they forget about Zendaya. The movie is not subtle about this.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 29, 2024 2:06 AM
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I really liked the movie, but I continue to think that Zendaya is just incredibly limited as an actress. She’s okay if she has to play a teenager, but lacks the depth or skill to credibly play an adult. Couldn’t buy her either as a mom or as a ballbusting tennis coach in this. Too callow.
Unfortunately, because she helped produce the movie, it was built around her. The two main guys, the script, the editing, and the score were all so great that she didn’t sink the picture, thankfully.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 29, 2024 6:20 AM
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R9 disagree. She proved herself as a force in this film. She was great from start to end. She has a massive screen presence and really dominated in this.
All three actors were phenomenal.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | May 1, 2024 2:40 PM
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R9 100%. Also, there are endless amounts of homoerotic undertones throughout the film. My sister picked up on them almost immediately. Only an idiot will say they don’t exist.
Even when they’re in the sauna, the way Patrick gets super close to Art while he’s naked, almost like he wants to seduce him. And then when Patrick asks Art if he doesn’t matter, and Art says not even to the most obsessed tennis fan, leading Patrick to say “I’m not talking about tennis”, like a sad puppy talking to his ex he still has feelings for.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 1, 2024 2:47 PM
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Here is the sauna scene. Tons of homoerotic undertones
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 1, 2024 2:52 PM
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