Some people can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t freely partake in the latest entertainment Hollywood is putting out. For those of us who don’t patronize current films, the reasons are clear. Contrary to popular opinion, choosing to avoid viewing material made in recent years or even recent decades doesn’t mean you can never watch movies or television. Thousands of movies and series made in the “good old days” are readily available on Turner Classic Movies channel, DVDs, YouTube, and streaming services like Prime Video, Tubi, and countless others.
The Latest
“Challengers” was released in American theaters on April 26, 2024, after premiering in Sydney, Australia, on March 26. It was released by Amazon MGM Studios, having been produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Frenesy Film Company, and Pascal Pictures. It stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. The original screenplay was written by Justin Kuritzkes, and it was directed by Luca Guadagnino, who produced the film with Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, and Zendaya. It has done well both financially and critically so far.It’s the story of three young tennis players whose lives are intertwined romantically as well as professionally. In 2006, high school students and childhood friends Patrick Zweig (O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Faist) are both attracted to a serious female tennis player, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), after winning at the US Open. Romance escalates between the three of them, but Tashi agrees to give her phone number to the winner of the junior singles the next day. Patrick wins and goes on to begin a long-distance relationship with Tashi while on tour as a professional tennis player while she and Art play college tennis at Stanford. When Patrick visits Stanford, he and Tashi fight because she gives him technical pointers. When she injures her knee severely during a match that Patrick didn’t attend because of their fight, she breaks up with him and accepts Art’s comfort instead. Years later, Tashi and Art are engaged, and she is coaching him to professional victory because she never recovered from her injury. Eventually, Art and Tashi get married. However, the professional tennis industry is a small world, so Patrick keeps turning up as Art’s competitor, both on the court and for Tashi’s heart.
“Challengers” is rated R “for language throughout, some sexual content and graphic nudity.” IMDb’s Parent Guide gives a much more specific description of objectionable content, listing it in separate categories. This film’s Parent Guide reveals that the amount of content which the Rating System considers “some” is shockingly high and graphic. From the basic plot outline, there’s an interesting story in this film. Boyhood friends are separated by love for the same woman. Professional rivalry comes between the girl and the man she really loves, so she settles for his friend. After an injury ends her career, she lives vicariously through her sweetheart’s career. To see how such a film could have been made without all the profanity and obscene material, let’s consider a Golden Era movie with a similar professional love triangle, “Rhapsody.”
The Greatest
“Rhapsody” is a 1954 film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Vittorio Gassman, and John Ericson. Released on March 11, 1954, it demonstrates what MGM could do during its Golden Era, as opposed to 70 years later, when it’s owned by Amazon. This film was directed by Charles Vidor and produced by Lawrence Weingarten. The screenplay was written by two married writing teams, Fay and Michael Kanin and Ruth and Augustus Goetz, based on the 1908 novel “Maurice Guest” by Henry Handel Richardson.
Spoiled debutante Louise Durant (Taylor) tells her father (Louis Calhern) that she’s going to the music conservatory in Zurich. Knowing his daughter’s talent for the piano is limited, the willful millionaire correctly deduces that her passion is for a young man. Convinced that her father never really loved or needed her, Louise leaves for Zurich with Paul Bronte (Gassman), a talented violinist who only has one more year of study. She rents a lovely furnished flat, and Paul is disappointed to learn that the attic has been rented to American pianist James Guest (Ericson), who also plans to go to the conservatory. Paul’s mentor, Prof. Schuman (Michael Chekhov), informs him that he will play the solo at the orchestra concert. Delighted, Paul practices non-stop, while Louise is left impatiently waiting for him time after time. Meanwhile, Schuman does not accept her to the conservatory, knowing that she is not a serious musician. However, he is dismayed to see the distracting effect she has on his star student. James is also infatuated by the beautiful Louise, defending her honor when another student makes implications about her relationship with Paul. After Paul lashes out at the conductor (Richard Hageman) at a symphony rehearsal because he is unprepared, he tells Louise they can’t see each other at all until the performance. However, his musical triumph is the beginning of a career, in which Louise will only be a distraction. The devastated Louise turns to James in her loneliness, but marriage to him can’t make her forget Paul.
Although the characters in the classic film are playing music while the characters in the new film are playing tennis, the scenarios have many similarities. “Challengers” takes place across a 13-year time span, so the characters begin as adolescents; “Rhapsody” takes place in only a couple of years, so the characters begin as young adults. Two young men seriously pursuing some discipline, either a sport or an art, both fall in love with the same young woman. The biggest difference is that Tashi is an excellent tennis player, perhaps better than both boys, whereas Louise is a mediocre pianist with no aspiration to be a serious musician. She is more interested in the one who is more successful in his art, Patrick in “Challengers” and Paul in “Rhapsody.” A fight between them is followed by a traumatic medical incident for the girl, a knee injury in “Challengers” and attempted suicide by pills in “Rhapsody.” In both cases, the other man is there for her, leading them to get married. However, the girl doesn’t stop loving her original paramour and wants to reunite with him. Both films conclude with a dramatic event, a match in “Challengers” and a concert for James in the other, after which the wife plans to potentially leave her husband for the other man.
Love Means Nothing
The term “love” means a score of zero in tennis. Although tennis is what brings Tashi, Patrick, and Art together, professional rivalry breaks up romance and friendships between them. Similarly, “Rhapsody” raises the question of whether there is any room in a musician’s life for romance. In both films, the heroine is able to inspire her husband to greatness in his field, even though she is perhaps doing it for the wrong reasons. On the other hand, her influence was nothing but a detriment for the other man.“Challengers” is proving to be a successful movie, but I venture to say it could have been equally successful without the objectionable material which earned the R-rating. Could the dialogue have been effective without 45 uses of the worst swear word? Could the romance have been moving without graphic obscenity? Could locker room scenes have been convincing without full nudity? Well, consider watching “Rhapsody” to see whether it is successful without profanity, obscenity, and nudity.
