Challengers: Sexy Athletes with a lot of Tension
Tennis, Tension, Turbulence! Zendaya! And little thoughts about athletes.
I have wanted to see Challengers since it was released in theaters. I watched Zendaya voluntarily dress in tennis apparel and look so good that I was obviously like there’s something about this film that needs to be seen. What else could make Zendaya, fashion icon, wear tennis ball shoes (which sound insane) except a high quality movie? At last, Amazon said I could rent this because it was officially $3.99 and my impatience for it arriving on a streaming service I subscribed to had officially run out.
This is not an entirely spoiler free write up, but I’m pretty sure I really am the last person on earth to see this, but this is your warning.
Guys, this movie is just about almost having sex constantly and the erotic nature of tennis (which was news to me). I have never watched tennis. My knowledge ends with I know who Serena Williams is and that one tennis guy who narrates Davey’s story in Never Have I Ever, can’t even remember his name but I know he’s a really big deal. My understanding ends with watching that season of You where there are characters named Forty and Love and I guess those are tennis terms. My favorite game of tennis is the one where Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner makeout in the stands after their Beyonce concert debut. Tennis, it would seem, is all around me and yet I remain very ignorant.
Sex, is also everywhere in the movie, but also not? For an R rated movie there’s sexuality and a scene of too much male genitalia in a locker room, but sex doesn’t actually happen on screen. Lots of tension (being in a sauna, college dorm rooms, grunting on the court) and lots of innuendo (bananas, churros), but it’s very PG-13 sexuality all around. ‘Not sex’ is intentional to drive the tension and also hot for the audience. Always tease and never give, keep them wanting more!
There’s also a lot of unhealthy relationships. Best friends in love with the same woman and a woman who wants both the best friends when it benefits her. Best friends kind of in love with each other? Best friends and woman all hate each other. It’s all very turbulent.
This is also a very pretty movie. The scenes are stylized with a filter I wish I could have on my entire life. Scenes are carefully choreographed to drive the innuendo or tension. Tennis is still boring to me, but now I know it can look pretty. There’s attractive people in every scene thanks to this only being about three attractive people. All three of them are either in a state of glowing as if they just finished a shoot for expensive skin care or sweating as if they just got out of shooting a Nike campaign about being a sexy athlete.
I would also like my life to be set to the soundtrack of this movie where I can feel like I’m the most badass and beautiful person around, when all I’m doing is walking in my athleisure. This is a very good soundtrack.
My favorite scene actually lasts probably less than a minute. And of course it has Chani Tashi in it. In the scene Tashi has just walked away from a frustrating tennis practice after being injured, looks down at her scar and melts into disappointment and despair at her inability to play to her former ability ever again.
I’ve never been an athlete, but I think we can all relate to this moment. There’s something so relatable about watching them compete, to keep going, fighting. I think that’s why we as humans can get so emotional watching them win, but also when they get injured. It’s watching defeat that is so out of anyone’s control at that moment. That is the limitation of their body. Something they have done everything that they can to control and practice to perform in a certain way. It’s heartbreaking to literally watch a dream die because their body has failed them so completely. Our bodies can only do so much for us, but when they fail us it feels like a betrayal. We expect people to fail us, but when our bodies fail us it feels more determinantal. All that to say, I feel like Zendaya captured that so perfectly in just a 30 sec clip.
I don’t think Challengers is groundbreaking or a must! see! But I do think it’s a good, sexy time. It’s beautiful, the acting is wonderful, and the tension of all kinds drips. It’s different than what I thought it would be, but I feel like that’s a good thing--it was more expansive in some ways.
Let me know if you’ve seen it—I would love to hear some other thoughts!