McEnroe – Review
103 Minutes, Rated TV-MA
Written and Directed by Barney Douglas
Synopsis:
Nobody embodied the rockstar era of tennis more than John McEnroe. The original bad boy of the sport, McEnroe was famous not only for his epic matches, but also for his confrontations on and off the court. Accompanied by interviews with icons like Patty Smyth, Keith Richards, Billie Jean King, and Bjorn Borg, the legendary tennis ace gives an unflinching account of his triumphs, struggles, friendships, and rivalries.
I grew up in the seventies, and sports television was everything in our house. We watched golf, Nascar, football, track and field, swimming, baseball, and yes, even tennis.
And in the seventies tennis was Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe.
And, while I fondly remember watching Jimmy Connors muscle his way through US Open after US Open, there was no single player more compelling to watch on any given day than John McEnroe.
He played like a kid might: throwing himself across the court after a return, trying to deflate the ball as he struck back, becoming unabashedly angry at seemingly obvious missed calls (and more than one equally obvious made call which went against him).
He played with passion.
McEnroe documents the rise, career, and fall of the sports icon both on and off the court, but at a brisk 103 minutes, it feels a bit truncated, not unlike McEnroe’s playing peak. The revelations and revisitations made me long for a 3- or 4-episode mini-series at about an hour apiece, each documenting a period in a more in-depth manner.
McEnroe, as constructed feels more like a primer, an ESPN-like retrospective than a real documentary.
Don’t get me wrong, if you follow tennis and aren’t too familiar with John McEnroe, then I can highly recommend this documentary to you. It’s a bit like watching a basketball special about the 1980s, when Magic and Bird would have legendary duels on the court.
It’s the same sport you know but played in an entirely different way. The rules, the atmosphere, but most importantly, the players themselves seem built differently than they are today.
Check it out. You’ll be glad you did.
McEnroe is currently streaming on Showtime and features icons such as Patty Smyth, Billie Jean King, Bjorn Borg and Keith Richards.
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