The Challengers directed by Luca Guadagnino follows Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him our of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event – close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
หใใใใโฆใใใ.ใใ. ใโหใ.ใใใใใ . โฆใใใ ใหใใใใ . โ
My Review: I wanted to watch this movie when it was first released, but wasn’t able to. So when I saw it was on Prime, and I was having a self-care night, I immediately turned it on. And I was not disappointed! It is quite literally the horniest sports drama I have ever watched, in my entire life and I hope it is the last horny sports drama I watch. Not because I don’t enjoy sports dramas, I do. But the horny factor was… high and that, for me, isn’t something I really go out looking for.
I enjoyed that the story was not chronological, and found that Zendaya’s character, Tashi, was simply an interesting person. I do wonder why and how she became who she is because she is not a good person, even at the ripe age of 18. She is rather emotionally abusive to Art and Patrick, manipulative and cold. Perhaps pursuing a sport turned her cold and vindictive, but we never really find out why she turned out to be rather a bad person.
At the beginning, I enjoyed Patrick. He was confident and an overall good athlete, but as the movie continued, I could not stand this man. I felt horrible for him at the beginning as he was trying to go pro, but never made it like Art did, and he was struggling financially AND you lost your best friend due to a fight with Tashi. That’s rough! But when he actually showed, he was rude, cold, and on a mission to get with Tashi… Like I get it, your best friend is with a girl you use to be in a relationship with in college, boo, tomato tomato tomato, but gosh darn! Are we not mature at 30?
Now onto Art. Do I think he is a good person? No. But I liked him a lot more than Tashi and Patrick combined. Art felt like someone that does not have any self confidence and depends on his friends and partners to make him feel good. He desperately needs to learn to have a backbone. I don’t think this makes him a bad person, but what does make him a bad person is when he begins trying to pull apart Tashi and Patrick. He creates lies to which leads the couple to have a fight before Tashi’s game. The domino’s keep falling and finally Tashi is injured. Then (years later), they began to date. Eventually gets married. Tashi literally has this man whipped and threatens divorce when he asks if she would love him if he lost against? Ugh!
The plot was interesting and honestly, kind of great. I did enjoy watching Tashi and Art’s relationship begin, and I liked being able to watch it begin to crumble. It was interesting to see how a star athlete who has to retire in her 20’s changes her life to coach tennis players, and how obsessed she is with the sport that anyone in her vicinity needs to be great.
You don’t get an actual conclusion and it leaves you, the audience, to speculate what happened after the final match. Many theories say that Tashi and Art divorce and Art begins a relationship with Patrick. According to these theories, this was Tashi’s plan the entire time (which why would she spend 20 something years getting them together romantically… bombastic side eye. [And I get it… They have mad chemistry but I don’t think necessarily think it’s 100% romantic]) Other’s say that Tashi and Art stay married, despite the infidelity, and Patrick comes back into their lives as a lover. And other theories say that Patrick does come back into their lives, but as a friend.
Both theories are interesting, but I am choosing not to think too hard on it. I want to live in a happy world where Art has retired from tennis, is a happy father, loving life with his best friend and his wife. Nothing bad happens after it finishes, and the little girl has two loving parents the entire time with a new found uncle.
Would I Recommend This Movie?
Yes, I would. However, I do not think this movie is for everyone. I enjoyed it because I enjoy sport dramas, if you are looking for something similar to The Blind Side, this is not the right movie for you. If you are looking for some crazy relationship drama with tennis intermixed, then this is for you!
What are your opinions on The Challengers? Was it something you were interested in?
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