I swear this film agrees with you Kendall, that the throuple option is the best option. But yes, it could've been gayer. (Like if Tashi and Art both cheated on each other with Patrick)
You forgot to talk about why the last set becomes so intense : Patrick tells Art he had sex with Tashi again, and following that Art gets his motivation back, which is why the match becomes “good tennis” and Tashi is happy.
@@peepeehead2633huh? Its literally all spoiler Thar is the literal point of the non spoiler section 😂 did you finish the vid even after she said that lmao
Yeah, because for a moment, I thought when watching the trailer, it was going to be just two dudes simping for the same girl, only to come to the conclusion in the end that she’s not worth it and it’s the whole lesson of, “Bros before-“…. OK, never mind, I’m not gonna go there….
Did u miss the fact that Patrick told Art that he slept with Tashi by doing the ”ball in the center” thing? That’s why Art got mad and said ”fuck off” and that’s when he and Patrick started playing for real
Patrick’s shirt he’s always in is actually Tashi’s!!!! They switched shirts after that big fight that led to her injury, and I read this as the torch he was still carrying for her. Especially seeing Art and Tasha on the tennis court, which is what I presume his last time seeing them since Atlanta.
AHHH IM SO GLAD SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED i literally leaned over to my sister during atlanta like "omg hes still wearing her shirt...." for me it was more representative of how patrick couldnt move on from tennis, art or tashi. hes stuck in the past pretending hes still an up-and-coming tennis star, pretending he still has tashi by wearing her shirt around years after they broke up
There's also something you didn't catch about the climax: Patrick isn't throwing the match at all, he misses his shots and in a last ditch effort not to lose and to destabilize Art, he uses the same gesture he did to signal Art that he slept with Tashi when they were young. We also don't know who won!
We know who won - anyone who avidly watches tennis knows that Art won. Patrick sacrifices running for the shot to catch Art. Art's racket hit the ball before he touched the net and as long as that ball was called in (I doubt it'd be out based on how he hit it), he won.
13:35 *Tashi's parents don't own that estate.* Patrick said that she'd soon make her parents millionaires, and Tashi said in the hotel room that her parents couldn't afford to send her to boarding school.
My hot take is that the final scene IS the threesome. It’s ambiguous, yeah, but I think when Tashi yells “come on!” it’s a double entendre. I really loved the ambiguity and how they didn’t give us much about the characters bc we’re able to use tiny clues to extrapolate things about them for ourselves. I think Tashi does love these boys bc she’s a fierce queen who doesn’t tolerate nonsense and I think she wouldn’t put up with them if she didn’t have feelings for them as well. I believe I saw a letterboxd review that said “everything is sex, except sex, which is tennis” and I think that’s pretty accurate. Also, the director said in an interview that for him, they all go back to the hotel room after the final scene, so 🤷♀️ throuple rights!
Eh, the “ambiguity” thing has been constantly used as a way to avoid directly dealing with queerness in movies. This is 2024. It’s a tired trope. They were definitely calculated in making sure the movie was “too gay” and making sure that people could view the film from a strictly hetero-normal perspective if they want to.
I personally don't think tashi was in love with the boys enough to do a threesome with them. Sex with Patrick and her relationship with Art only fueled her love of tennis and access her ego from her prime. So I think the final scene makes sense. It's also indicative of the make-up scene in which tashi watches the boys be together. (I did want the boys to kiss of their will though)
@@liteflightify Or maybe that just wasn't the point of the movie? Luca doesn't shy away if that's the story he WANTS to tell. He did call me by your name and also he literally has a new movie called queer coming out soon lol. Perhaps for him he felt the relationship with Art and Patrick is ambiguous and that's ok because that's how he decided to tell the story.
@@liteflightifynaaaaah luca directed call me by your name and it’s sooo clearly subtextually queer but in a fun very overt way if you pay attention. subtext is still a queer cinema practice because of its history. if the gays only get it, it’s for the gays. this doesn’t apply to all films where it is in the subtext of course, but this is like very obviously gay to anyone who knows what to look for. and zendaya isn’t afraid to do queer roles, euphoria is a key example and she produced this film. i do agree that this is more of an ease in role, and i do think it could be more gay than it is. but i feel like this is only the beginning!
Tashi wanted to be more than just a tennis player, she wasn’t obsessed until she could no longer do the only thing she could do so well at that point and so then she became miserable and obsessed. She couldn’t let it go and move on and made it everyone else’s problem. Just like every man you know from high school who didn’t do as well or couldn’t play a sport they excelled at in college for whatever reason. Anyway, 10/10 perfect movie
i just gotta accept that we have different tastes in movies lmaooo. this is like the 3rd review of a movie that defined me as a person and your review of it being “it was alright. 7/10” 😭😭😭😭😭😭. the way challengers had me and my queer homegirls at the EDGE of our seats. i do agree that it could’ve been more gay onscreen, but the ending very much gave “all 3 went to a hotel and had a happy ending”
@@TheBennifactor ‼️‼️ that ending scene was more climactic than a threesome imo. i can find MMF pr0n anywhere but THAT scene had me screaming like Tashi
Yo I also have to accept this. Especially since I watched The Idea of You or whatever because Kennie liked it and I’ll never get those hours back. Straight basura 🗑️😭
one thing kendall doesn't mention that I feel is ESSENTIAL to enjoying the ending is that Patrick tells Art he fucked Tashi (recently) during the final tie breaker set. He uses the exact same signal he used back in college to let Art know he and Tashi had sex then. It's necessary, because in that action Patrick is coming clean to Art and laying it all out on the table, no more secrets, no more games, just honesty. And Art is finally forced to accept the reality that Tashi does not love him enough to be honest with him even if it hurts, but Patrick *does*. That final rally is essentially what Tashi was saying at the beginning of the film: a full honest loving relationship playing out between Art and Patrick, where they can finally connect as equal partners. That's why she screams at the end: she finally got her wish, which was always to see some "good fucking tennis". And that's why Art and Patrick embrace in ecstatic glee (i.e. ecstasy) with who won never being made clear. Because it doesn't matter. Art and Patrick were finally able to fully understand each other and love each other publicly instead of repressing or using Tashi as a conduit. And everyone in the crowd watching cheers. IDK MAN. I get the complaints about how gay sexuality is always masked or made subtext because heternormativity, but this movie was EXTREMELY gay to me and I LIVED
Sameee! By the end of Challengers i was holding onto the theater's seat to walk out of the room, i was trembling like a lamb. Plus what you said at the end it's exactly what the director himself said, they all went off to the hotel together 😭
I think you either love or hate what they did with the music in this movie. Personally, I thought it added so much intensity. It only gets loud in scenes where Patrick and Art are in active competition for Tashi. It feels overwhelming like the back and forth of a tennis match. But I can definitely see how some people might not like it and feel like it distracts from the actual scene
I heard their hair color has an a core aspect to the complexity of the characterization of the leads. Blonde to black, having Tashi's, brown, hair between them and the many ways it changes every other scene from past to present. Tashi's "strength" is at peak when her hair is long and having that length shorten going through the years as she crosses paths with Art or Patrick. On a coordinate plane, tashi would be the vertical line, like how her seat in the final game is aligned with the fence of the court. That leaves the audience wondering where art and pat lie on the horizontal line.
Do you think Luca should put black men in his movies? He has never had a black man in any of his movies. It’s interesting that y’all ignore black lgbtq stories
You missed the biggest part of the ending. Patrick literally told art he fcked tashi with the thing he did with the ball and racket. Throwback to the first time they did it and Art asked him to give him a sign of they did it? It ended with Art realizing Tashi ain’t shit and reconciliation with Patrick. Thats why the hug was such a big deal
One part you might have missed is in the flashbacks art tells Patrick to give him a sign if he and Tashi slept together. In the final match Patrick shows the sign again (ball to the center of the racket or something), giving art the motivation to go all out
Kenny… did you miss the fact that Patrick communicated that he and Tashi slept together via the secret racket signal? Art didn’t just decide to start missing on purpose because Pat was- he was pissed because of this new info and THAT is what pushed him to go hard in the end
Patrick is fully in love with Tashi - it's very clear throughout the whole movie. He would never cheat on her. He wasn't looking at other girls in the cafeteria with Art - he was looking at the Duncanator poster behind them and judging Tashi for not having gone pro sooner. Hence why he brings it up during their fight later and he asks her why she'd want to be the Duncanator beating on a girl from Pepperdine vs playing with people on her level. Tashi has the capacity to love - she loves Art and loved Patrick when she was dating him. She just loved them through tennis. Coaching Art, attempting to coach Patrick and commenting on his game. I'm surprised you didn't realize Art's conversation with Tashi over lunch was manipulative. It's the single instance in the movie where he stoops to Tashi and Patrick's level. He then does the same to Patrick in the cafeteria and essentially orchestrates and plays a large role in the fight that Patrick and Tashi had in her dorm room afterwards, effectively being the catalyst that breaks them up. It’s what allows him to “win” Tashi until Atlanta.
I get that everyone is going to have a different take, but I definitely disagreed with K on Patrick. I agree with what you said, I think Patrick was obsessed with Tashi before even meeting her. He was into her before Art even knew about her. Art was a bad friend to both of them.Things would have been so different if she would have went pro, they would have been the "power tennis couple" instead for sure.
“Say hi, booger sugar☺️😙” so so so cute but had me dying by what that actually means. It’s so funny said in such a cutesy voice. You are a gem, Kennie. And you must be protected at all costs.
When I found your channel I noticed you and Amanda covered similar movies, but I also realized y'all really do have different takes on them, and highlight different scenes. If y'all do cover the same smaller scene in the movie, yall will have different takes on it, and it gives me more context...cause im most likely am not going to watch these movies, I just like hearing y'all talk about them 🙂
I LOVED every messy, complicated, toxic, co-dependent minute of this movie! The cinematography - outstanding. IMO, the music was used to make you feel the emotions of the characters versus the actual spoken words. The time jumps are like a tennis match (back and forth). The signal from Patrick letting Art know that he'd screwed Tashi - chef's kiss. Tashi screaming then smiling means she got her wish of just wanting to see good f***ing tennis AND the boys back together again - YES. The best film I've seen in the last few years. It's just BRILLIANT! 10/10
my freshman year of college, Zendaya kept coming to my school to watch tennis matches and practice so the whole school was really confused. now it makes sense lol
i loved the movie, especially how it takes a more old-fashioned, metaphorical, almost hitchcock-like approach to eroticism, but i agree with the criticism that it could've been gayer. i see a lot of people discuss the same thing, but they do it in a way that completely leaves out tashi. imo, the story can stay, mostly, the same, with some minor adjustments to show the guy's sexualities. to me, the ending of them hugging and tashi cheering them on, doing her trademark "come on" scream was sorta like them all ending up together. always love your reviews!!!
I feel like another aspect of the challengers movie that is less talked about is the difference between passion and discipline, which is showcased through patrick and art’s personalities. This difference is emphasized in their duo names too: Fire (Patrick) and Ice (Art). And this is my own personal analysis that i’ve gotten from watching commentary vids on the movie but i feel like Tashi was the vehicle that brought the two together (passion and discipline) not just sexually but on the court too. And we see this in the final match, which was a call back to when Tashi said good tennis is not a match but a relationship. Thus, i feel like the main relationship in this film isn’t between art and patrick or art and tashi or patrick and tashi but rather between discipline and passion which are represented through art and patrick. That’s why, maybe…in my opinion, art and patrick play their best tennis when they play against each other or as a team. The two are dependent on each other in a way. because art needs patrick to spark passion in him (i.e. when patrick told art he slept w tashi before serving in the final match) and patrick needs art to remain disciplined
“JUST BE A THROUPLE!” - same thoughts here 😂 that’s what I hope happened after the credits rolled. They all get together and live out their true feelings.
I’m so glad you talked about the music being to loud and how it just kept coming in so abruptly. And yes I agree, they needed to make us care, just a bit by letting us in to see their past, why does she only feel fulfilled with tennis? Why is art a people pleaser, why was the other guy so cool with being a bum but have a rich family? All of which there was room to talk about but that nauseating final tennis scene was what we got. Like it was good but they had room for more for sure.
Even if others have covered it, I like seeing different people's takes on a piece of media, especially if it's really popular or hyped in a specific way. For example, it was cool to watch Princess Weekes' video that delved into Tashi's perspective as a black woman. As a black woman myself, it was interesting to see that aspect explored since it didn't cross my mind all that much while I initially watched it. However, overall, I think my ultimate feelings about the film more align with your take, even if it happened differently for me. I had never planned on seeing this movie because from the trailers it just looked like 3 people being terrible to each other (which ultimately it kind of was) and, ironically, it was a review talking about the music that got me to see it; I actually really enjoyed the music, because I personally love when music is used in a very directed and artistic way (another recent example is like in Civil War). I get why it can put some people off, but I particularly enjoyed that aspect of the film. It's partially what got me through it. But while I can appreciate the style and direction of the film, particularly the technical aspects, in the end I was left with: "Okay. So Patrick loves Art. Art loves Tashi. Tashi loves tennis." (There are people talking about the idea that tennis loves Patrick as well, which I can also understand.) Basically, these people all love something that doesn't love them back. And while I've come to accept the ending, it wasn't my favorite ending. It was another "okay" from me. The film was good, and in a sea of pretty uninspiring films that don't take much risk, I can see why this was so refreshing. But for me it was good, not great, and in that respect I agree. 7/10 is a solid rating. However, I will say, through reading other people's reactions I can fully understand why they love the ending, which is just another reason why I enjoy seeing other people's perspectives.
the music, the hot throuple, I love everything about this movie. Also Ken, I’m also PMSing and I have been crying every single day. I get it. I absolutely get it. Stay strong, queen
Do u think Luca should cast a black man in his movies? If you support black LGBTQ people you should want that. Luca only cast white actors in his male roles for movies
seeing online discourse about this movie has proven to me that people do not understand the concept of eroticism. “eroticism” is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love.” challengers does this beautifully, but if you wanted something with more explicit sex vs. sensuality, you’re assessing it out of its context. also - the original script wasn’t queer at all. luca added those dynamics to Art and Patrick himself, which made the movie so much richer and complex, while still staying true to the script. so it’s just funny when people say it’s not queer enough when it wasn’t even supposed to be to begin with.
I would love to see your take on Lisa Frankenstein! It's such a bizarre romp, personally I adore it. Think Sweeney Todd meets Edward Scissorhands/ Corpse Bride. And also Heathers. And also it takes place in 1989. It's written by Diablo Cody (who wrote Juno and Jennifer's Body), directed by Zelda Williams (her directorial debut), and stars Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse. I don't know if you'll love it, but I do know you won't be bored
My main issue with the film is the need for more depth in the characters. I know they use a lot of symbolism, but it was hard to invest in the characters when so little happened between them.
I absolutely loved the music, I don’t know if I’m biased cause I just like the style of music anyway, but I never see movies really use it in a normal context. it’s always used if the characters are in a club or whatever, so it was interesting hearing it in a movie like this
If you'll want to watch a gay movie with Josh O'Connor, please watch God's own country 💖 it's a beautiful gay movie with a happy ending!! One of the best movies I have ever seen
no, i agree with you in your first thoughts about the film not being "THAT FANTASTIC" and not really "THE RETURN OF TRUE CINEMA". I think it's a fun and enjoyable watch, but i believe our thirst for films other than reboots, sequels, franchises and superhero films is so so so big, that when we see a well crafted film we start crying over it. Calm down people, it's not a masterpiece, it's an ok good film AND THAT'S FINE! *also u missed the part about patrick telling art during the match about having sex with tashi. also also, i think art is a bitch horrible person as well, he started the whole argument with his sneaky comments about their relationship to both of them.
In the future Kennie is casually going to drop the words my husband in a video😂❤ Congratulations queen!!! The way my jaw dropped when she said my boyfriend. Love the twists!
Actually something I learned is that since Art goes over the net in the end means they have to replay point. So, he didn't even win they still have to keep playing. I thought that was genius not going to lie. Plus, I find it so interesting that you didn't like the music (which i loved) and you didn't like Tashi. I loved Tashi because she's just a very blunt person and yeah it's about tennis because it was taken away from her. You see that she tries to go to Stanford and be more but then she has a career ending injury (an injury that both Art and Patrick could have got in the end since they both make the same movement that causes Tashi's) and now she's stuck in this tennis world. She never got past her injury and now she's the version of herself that she at least attempted to avoid. Plus, I think it's unfair to say she only loved tennis. I am apart of the group that believes she loves art and that she would do anything to help them both. I didn't like Art because I thought he was manipulative and played this "I'm a nice guy" persona because it benefitted him. Then he got what he wanted which was Tashi and now he can't live up to her expectations. It's like babe what did you expect??? But, he's a repressed bisexual so he has bigger problems to deal with. It definitely could've been more gay - however I think what they did was good. It was a lot more metaphorical and ambiguous but like you said depending on how you look at it it can reveal or not reveal alot of things about the movie. I think it lends itself to what I would say is the Succession crowd of psycho-character analysis - where the little things they do and say and don't say actually matter. But, if that's not your forte then yeah it's a 7/10 movie. But, for me 9/10. Minus 1 point because of the lack of overly gay.
i do think she genuinely loved art but she also loved tennis and the only way for her to reconcile that was through him. she pushes art constantly because he represents what was taken from her, one of her first lines to him is something like "i would kill to have a recovery like you". she tells him she'll leave him if he loses and then rushes to make sure he wins. the love she has for him is muddled with her trauma from losing tennis. i think thats why shes so startled when patrick says that she only loves art because of tennis, not because its true, but because her love for art and her love of tennis is so intertwined that she never realized they were seperate entities she was combining
Actually, replaying the point depends on if he hit the ball before or after he touched the net. I'm pretty sure he hit the ball before and therefore, as long as the ball is called in, he officially wins the challenger.
The paragraph I sent my friends 😭😭 can you tell I’ve worked at the movies from 16 through college? So these are my thoughts on challengers: Fire and ice (art and patrick) were childhood friends that started competing together in tennis doubles. After art and Patrick played that doubles match in the opening scene they were in sync with each other, and were able to grow their love of tennis together over the years. Tashii: Tashi imo represents their love for tennis, something that they once shared equally (when they were most in sync, i.e: playing doubles matches and winning together) however, they took different paths towards maintaining their “relationship” with tennis. Once they started focusing more on their solo careers / finding themselves outside of this centuries old childhood best friendship is when tashi came into their lives . Remember: For all intents and purposes, tashi is the personification of their love for tennis. On one hand you have art who went the “safe” way of going pro. You chose to go D1 at school, he followed the advice of his coaches, all the way, until the end. he showed the most “committment” to tennis. On the other hand, you have Patrick, who tried to dive straight into going pro and playing tennis. If you look closely, Tashi ends up with whoever has the most committment to tennis at the moment. The day patrick essentially said f- tennis / insinuated that he didnt want his life to strictly be about tennis during his fight with tashi, she was injured. Which imo signified that his committment to tennis had broken / suffered irreparable damage this was shown in his immediate decline in respect among his colleagues and his for the most part failure of a career despite being talented - and obviously his relationship with tashi. On the backend, you have art who is now 100% fully invested in tennis (he piques tashi’s interest) and goes on to have an amazing pro career. - this is getting long but i promise im wrapping it up - The day Art loses his confidence in tennis and doesn’t know if he wants to continue playing, Tashi -highkey- starts questioning her happiness in the relationship looking for that commitment to her (tennis) elsewhere. When art asks her if she’ll leave if he loses and she says yes i was like tashi i knew you was just a tennis ball girl ! The closing scene of them playing into hugging each other and tashi screaming represents the relationship they once shared when they had a synchronous dynamic with each other -similar to when they played doubles- coming back to life. When tashi called herself a homewrecker she really wasnt lying. The best years of their relationship was when they both loved tennis together/played & trained together. Tashi represents what their dynamic with tennis is like separately / without each other.
okay you actually did something with this!! This is what I was trying to articulate when I watched it with my mom! Their love for tennis (Tashi) would always be unfulfilling as long as they were separate
If yall want a book that has a love triangle between two codependent guy friends and a woman (sometimes), then read The Wicker King!! it’s my favorite book of all time. same amount of codependency & tension between the male characters, but more gay!! 🤭 it was so good that I wanted to read it over the span of a week (at least) cuz I didn’t want it to end. but I prematurely finished it in two days 😔
"She smiles for the first time in the entire movie" and during the entire hotel & party scene you couldn't wipe the giddy smile off her face if you tried.
Di- I’m sorry did she say “let me read through the messages I sent to my BOYFRIEND”?! When did that happen?! Am I tripping? Congratulations? I would love details!!
It ended and felt like there was a whole act missing in either the middle or the end. I don’t know. I get where guadagnino wanted to take it and his inspiration with the time hopping etc etc, but it fell flat because even at the pace he established he failed to make us ‘relate’ to the characters he made. I agree Art is the only one with enough depth - he’s the only one with an actual ARC that was intentional. He moved from below to above Pat but tbh that’s about it. Pat just fell below him (we don’t even fully get why) and Tashi remains consistent, though I think that was the point… even after her injury she doesn’t grow any remorse just a vague ‘caring’ for Art which she ‘ruins’ by cheating on him in the end
At the end of the movie Patrick did what he did when they were teens and hit the ball like Art, showing he slept with Tashi. So at end of the movie he hold/hits the ball like Art once again. That's why Art gets mad and says "F off" and they really start to play. Patrick said Tashi wouldn't know if he was throwing but that was his sign to egg Art on. Reminding them how much fun they had when they played together in their youth and how they were once friends.
Sorry how is sleeping with your ex friends wife and using that to taunt & manipulate him into playing differently reminding anyone of fun times & friendship???
@@heyheyheyLICyou watched the movie right? That was their whole thing - the whole movie was fighting over her & tennis so the ending wasn’t a stretch (Pat literally kissed Art when he saw Art was jealous that he was dating Tashi). Besides I didn’t write it… don’t be mad with me… I just stated what happened and what Kennie might’ve missed/didn’t mention…
I agree, they work best a throuple! They all fulfill something in each other. Yes tennis is Tashi’s first love but I reject the notion Tashi doesn’t love each boy in some way. And the boys don’t work without Tashi. And seeing the director specifically talk about how he intended this to be a throuple/not a love triangle or a singular gay relationship, I went into the movie expecting that and I loved it. I thought it was interesting to see these people struggle with these feelings for each other. And if they knew better how to navigate themselves they could have been together happily. Ps. At the end I do believe they do come together to be in a throuple relationship. There’s a BTS shooting scene where Tashi runs out to hug both boys. Now that could have been after they called cut but I think director says they left together after that final shot
Watching this video reminds me of that Mensies episode of New Girl. Kennie JD and Jessica Day gave me the most adequate representation of having a period. Thanks for giving us content while going through hell
I also watched Amanda's review and still don't like the idea of the film (haven't and won't watch it). It angers me when writers be like let's use symbols and then we get tennis for relationships, a woman obsessed with tennis but who doesn't give an S about relationships. B*tch, what's the point then?! And wind to show an upset state of mind?! Really?! If we already see her being upset isn't it redundant to have a breeze blowing to tell us she's upset?! They do a bunch of sh*t for no reason, that's not how art works, if there is no intent and purpose working together, than it's just fluff.
i’m glad i’m not the only one that didn’t feel like this is the most amazing film out there. i think it’s a good movie and story, but it’s a 7/10 for me too. the most exciting part of the movie was at the end with Patrick’s serve and Art’s “fuck off”.
I've been coming across more and more media filled with unlikable protagonists (almost cartoonish level) that make it hard to care about what happens to them. Don't know what's going on in the writer's room these days but it sucks.
Did I watch the movie? Not yet. Did I watch Amanda's video on it? Yes. Am I watching yours? Of course I fucking am! Love both of you, will watch and love whatever you decide to release 💕💕 Hope you feel better soon.
I havent even seen this movie but really like how Amanda described. So well i actually got emotional when she showed the clip of him catching the other player at the end and them hugging. Wild lol
Girl same. Im nauseous, hungry, hot from my monthly, and found out im anemic. Im falling apart and want to cry and chicken strips sounds soo good but i dont have any. Wahhh 😢 luv ya girly and your movie reviews, i need new things to check out or laugh at lol!
Try Rocket Money for free: rocketmoney.com/kenniejd #RocketMoney #personalfinance
Hey Kennie! Still you mind sharing the type of mic you’re using?
not the casual drop “my boyfriend”… congrats queen
Right!! Im a few videos behind I’m like did I miss something!? 😂 Congrats! 🫶🏽
no get me like “I just know I missed a chapter”
I was doing a puzzle and said woah what she say 🤣
no fr i said OKAYYYY KEN!!!
knew i wasnt the only one who heard
this feels like non-anime fans just found out why sports anime is so enjoyed
I was imagining the whole as movie as an classic sports anime (Gunbuster), I mean the sound track itself?? come on
Omg I felt like the only person to think this movie was so seinen-coded
Reaaaal😭
(don't reply just report the troll, I chose Child Abuse this time)
Literally 😂😂
I swear this film agrees with you Kendall, that the throuple option is the best option. But yes, it could've been gayer. (Like if Tashi and Art both cheated on each other with Patrick)
agreed!!! (with both)
HELLO i was shocked when that didn’t happen😭
“Could be gayer” 😂
Ppl say that ab a lot of things…….& they’re fkin’ right
@Tw0Dots in my personal opinion, 90%of things could become better if there were homosexuals in it
no literally I thought the sauna scene was going in a different direction… and i wish it did
You forgot to talk about why the last set becomes so intense : Patrick tells Art he had sex with Tashi again, and following that Art gets his motivation back, which is why the match becomes “good tennis” and Tashi is happy.
lol I was so distressed that the "I fucked your wife" serve went entirely unmentioned
I think she didnt want to spoil it like she says in the beginning.
@@peepeehead2633 Lol she spoiled the whole movie and referenced the scene where they smashed. It just looks like she didn't notice.
@@peepeehead2633huh? Its literally all spoiler
Thar is the literal point of the non spoiler section 😂 did you finish the vid even after she said that lmao
@@Tw0Dots i said “i think” as in a speculation.
Challengers is pretty muvh "This is my boyfriend and this is his boyfriend"
Accurate
Hiiii Chuuzus ❤
Yeah, because for a moment, I thought when watching the trailer, it was going to be just two dudes simping for the same girl, only to come to the conclusion in the end that she’s not worth it and it’s the whole lesson of, “Bros before-“….
OK, never mind, I’m not gonna go there….
@@osmanyousif7849 Is that not what it is?
unfortunately it’s more like “this is my boyfriend and this is my husband”
‘Text msgs I sent to my boyfriend’ BOYFRIEND SINCE WHENNNNN????!?!?!
I came straight to the comments to check if I heard that right 😭😭🥹
For a while now, have you not paid attention in the last couple vids???
Patrick was such a messy bisexual
Ive never met a non messy bisexual
@@kissit012me😔 i cant be messy if i awkwardly never speak to anyone lmao. Just an agorphobic bisexual dawg 😔👊
@ville__um 😮
@@sowhat2874 report it its a bot
You know that line out of context, just makes it sound of more weirder. As Patrick can just be about anyone.
Did u miss the fact that Patrick told Art that he slept with Tashi by doing the ”ball in the center” thing?
That’s why Art got mad and said ”fuck off” and that’s when he and Patrick started playing for real
That part was awesome. The way my whole theater yelled when he did the move 😂
Impressive that she missed that 3 times
@@CanIswearinmyhandle yk the music was throwing her
@@hamdialihassan1048 I don’t know, either, but the comment keeps coming up, so I’m reporting it whenever I see it.
@@marilynmalcolm9920 cool, thank u
Well… Amanda the Jedi isn’t gonna read the old thot next door, so I think that corner is covered by you 😂
Amanda the Jedi video next week : “MY INSANE REVIEW OF OLD TH*T NEXT DOOR”
That would be so fkin wild
@@marcelrobinson lol, I can picture it already
Kennie's probably gonna beg her to do it now so she doesn't have to do it 😭
Patrick’s shirt he’s always in is actually Tashi’s!!!! They switched shirts after that big fight that led to her injury, and I read this as the torch he was still carrying for her. Especially seeing Art and Tasha on the tennis court, which is what I presume his last time seeing them since Atlanta.
AHHH IM SO GLAD SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED i literally leaned over to my sister during atlanta like "omg hes still wearing her shirt...." for me it was more representative of how patrick couldnt move on from tennis, art or tashi. hes stuck in the past pretending hes still an up-and-coming tennis star, pretending he still has tashi by wearing her shirt around years after they broke up
I thought it was originally his shirt and Tashi had just borrowed it (like gfs often do). It was really oversized on her, but fit Patrick well
I remember him taking it after their fight and wearing it, but I still was like, “does he not have other shirts to wear?”
There's also something you didn't catch about the climax: Patrick isn't throwing the match at all, he misses his shots and in a last ditch effort not to lose and to destabilize Art, he uses the same gesture he did to signal Art that he slept with Tashi when they were young. We also don't know who won!
Right! He signaled him at the end I wish she caught that😩
@@abigailg3879 It's kinda funny how she didn't considering she saw the film three times 💀
Tf?
@@sage9158just report
We know who won - anyone who avidly watches tennis knows that Art won. Patrick sacrifices running for the shot to catch Art. Art's racket hit the ball before he touched the net and as long as that ball was called in (I doubt it'd be out based on how he hit it), he won.
21:30 Patrick wasn't "eyeing up girls," he was looking at Tashi's poster in the background. 👀
13:35 *Tashi's parents don't own that estate.* Patrick said that she'd soon make her parents millionaires, and Tashi said in the hotel room that her parents couldn't afford to send her to boarding school.
Also, she was staying in the same hotel as the boys.
Exactly!
That’s another part she missed for why she absolutely lives for tennis
'Don't be scared, it's just my uterus' needs to be on a t shirt
Art says “fuck off” because of the serve that Pat did. Not because he could tell Pat was throwing the game.
i know everyone keeps talking about the bedroom scene, i am more fascinated by the soundtrack in challengers and patrick's smirk
That soundtrack had me in a trance until the very end
Music is amazing!
The movie was great bob propaganda for me
Omg Chu I see u
Art smirk pretty good, too 😗😂
My hot take is that the final scene IS the threesome. It’s ambiguous, yeah, but I think when Tashi yells “come on!” it’s a double entendre. I really loved the ambiguity and how they didn’t give us much about the characters bc we’re able to use tiny clues to extrapolate things about them for ourselves. I think Tashi does love these boys bc she’s a fierce queen who doesn’t tolerate nonsense and I think she wouldn’t put up with them if she didn’t have feelings for them as well. I believe I saw a letterboxd review that said “everything is sex, except sex, which is tennis” and I think that’s pretty accurate. Also, the director said in an interview that for him, they all go back to the hotel room after the final scene, so 🤷♀️ throuple rights!
Eh, the “ambiguity” thing has been constantly used as a way to avoid directly dealing with queerness in movies. This is 2024. It’s a tired trope. They were definitely calculated in making sure the movie was “too gay” and making sure that people could view the film from a strictly hetero-normal perspective if they want to.
@@liteflightify they legit tongue fucked eachother the queer aspects are not "ambiguous."
I personally don't think tashi was in love with the boys enough to do a threesome with them. Sex with Patrick and her relationship with Art only fueled her love of tennis and access her ego from her prime. So I think the final scene makes sense. It's also indicative of the make-up scene in which tashi watches the boys be together. (I did want the boys to kiss of their will though)
@@liteflightify Or maybe that just wasn't the point of the movie? Luca doesn't shy away if that's the story he WANTS to tell. He did call me by your name and also he literally has a new movie called queer coming out soon lol. Perhaps for him he felt the relationship with Art and Patrick is ambiguous and that's ok because that's how he decided to tell the story.
@@liteflightifynaaaaah luca directed call me by your name and it’s sooo clearly subtextually queer but in a fun very overt way if you pay attention. subtext is still a queer cinema practice because of its history. if the gays only get it, it’s for the gays. this doesn’t apply to all films where it is in the subtext of course, but this is like very obviously gay to anyone who knows what to look for.
and zendaya isn’t afraid to do queer roles, euphoria is a key example and she produced this film. i do agree that this is more of an ease in role, and i do think it could be more gay than it is. but i feel like this is only the beginning!
Tashi wanted to be more than just a tennis player, she wasn’t obsessed until she could no longer do the only thing she could do so well at that point and so then she became miserable and obsessed. She couldn’t let it go and move on and made it everyone else’s problem. Just like every man you know from high school who didn’t do as well or couldn’t play a sport they excelled at in college for whatever reason. Anyway, 10/10 perfect movie
i just gotta accept that we have different tastes in movies lmaooo. this is like the 3rd review of a movie that defined me as a person and your review of it being “it was alright. 7/10” 😭😭😭😭😭😭. the way challengers had me and my queer homegirls at the EDGE of our seats. i do agree that it could’ve been more gay onscreen, but the ending very much gave “all 3 went to a hotel and had a happy ending”
The way me and my bestie were kicking our feet in the theater and just gasping
@@TheBennifactor ‼️‼️ that ending scene was more climactic than a threesome imo. i can find MMF pr0n anywhere but THAT scene had me screaming like Tashi
Yo I also have to accept this. Especially since I watched The Idea of You or whatever because Kennie liked it and I’ll never get those hours back. Straight basura 🗑️😭
one thing kendall doesn't mention that I feel is ESSENTIAL to enjoying the ending is that Patrick tells Art he fucked Tashi (recently) during the final tie breaker set. He uses the exact same signal he used back in college to let Art know he and Tashi had sex then. It's necessary, because in that action Patrick is coming clean to Art and laying it all out on the table, no more secrets, no more games, just honesty. And Art is finally forced to accept the reality that Tashi does not love him enough to be honest with him even if it hurts, but Patrick *does*. That final rally is essentially what Tashi was saying at the beginning of the film: a full honest loving relationship playing out between Art and Patrick, where they can finally connect as equal partners. That's why she screams at the end: she finally got her wish, which was always to see some "good fucking tennis". And that's why Art and Patrick embrace in ecstatic glee (i.e. ecstasy) with who won never being made clear. Because it doesn't matter. Art and Patrick were finally able to fully understand each other and love each other publicly instead of repressing or using Tashi as a conduit. And everyone in the crowd watching cheers.
IDK MAN. I get the complaints about how gay sexuality is always masked or made subtext because heternormativity, but this movie was EXTREMELY gay to me and I LIVED
Sameee! By the end of Challengers i was holding onto the theater's seat to walk out of the room, i was trembling like a lamb.
Plus what you said at the end it's exactly what the director himself said, they all went off to the hotel together 😭
I think you either love or hate what they did with the music in this movie. Personally, I thought it added so much intensity. It only gets loud in scenes where Patrick and Art are in active competition for Tashi. It feels overwhelming like the back and forth of a tennis match. But I can definitely see how some people might not like it and feel like it distracts from the actual scene
I agree it could've been more gay. I loved Patrick and art together in their scenes. Real chemistry
I heard their hair color has an a core aspect to the complexity of the characterization of the leads. Blonde to black, having Tashi's, brown, hair between them and the many ways it changes every other scene from past to present. Tashi's "strength" is at peak when her hair is long and having that length shorten going through the years as she crosses paths with Art or Patrick. On a coordinate plane, tashi would be the vertical line, like how her seat in the final game is aligned with the fence of the court. That leaves the audience wondering where art and pat lie on the horizontal line.
Do you think Luca should put black men in his movies? He has never had a black man in any of his movies. It’s interesting that y’all ignore black lgbtq stories
Twists girlies unite!!
I may let these loc up honestly, I was very meticulous with my parting.
I can’t do locs people want me to but I just can’t
35:31 text messages you sent to YOUR WHAT, NOW?? Biscuits, did I miss something?
Kennie finally talking about Challengers 😭🙏
You missed the biggest part of the ending. Patrick literally told art he fcked tashi with the thing he did with the ball and racket. Throwback to the first time they did it and Art asked him to give him a sign of they did it?
It ended with Art realizing Tashi ain’t shit and reconciliation with Patrick. Thats why the hug was such a big deal
Do you think it’s odd that Luca doesn’t have black men in any of his movies? It’s just white men in the leading roles
what’s funny is that its not enough tennis for tennis lovers and not enough gay for the gays, they shouldve just picked a side lmaooo
Kennie has a man now AND she's taking an edible?? Girl is giving me whiplash i still remember her thinking the dispensary was a distillery 😂😂😂
One part you might have missed is in the flashbacks art tells Patrick to give him a sign if he and Tashi slept together. In the final match Patrick shows the sign again (ball to the center of the racket or something), giving art the motivation to go all out
happy pride y'all!!🏳️🌈🖤
Kenny… did you miss the fact that Patrick communicated that he and Tashi slept together via the secret racket signal? Art didn’t just decide to start missing on purpose because Pat was- he was pissed because of this new info and THAT is what pushed him to go hard in the end
Yessss it was such a great detail!!
Would you have enjoyed this movie if two black men were in the lead male roles? Luca almost always avoids casting men of color in his movies.
Patrick is fully in love with Tashi - it's very clear throughout the whole movie. He would never cheat on her. He wasn't looking at other girls in the cafeteria with Art - he was looking at the Duncanator poster behind them and judging Tashi for not having gone pro sooner. Hence why he brings it up during their fight later and he asks her why she'd want to be the Duncanator beating on a girl from Pepperdine vs playing with people on her level.
Tashi has the capacity to love - she loves Art and loved Patrick when she was dating him. She just loved them through tennis. Coaching Art, attempting to coach Patrick and commenting on his game.
I'm surprised you didn't realize Art's conversation with Tashi over lunch was manipulative. It's the single instance in the movie where he stoops to Tashi and Patrick's level. He then does the same to Patrick in the cafeteria and essentially orchestrates and plays a large role in the fight that Patrick and Tashi had in her dorm room afterwards, effectively being the catalyst that breaks them up. It’s what allows him to “win” Tashi until Atlanta.
I get that everyone is going to have a different take, but I definitely disagreed with K on Patrick. I agree with what you said, I think Patrick was obsessed with Tashi before even meeting her. He was into her before Art even knew about her. Art was a bad friend to both of them.Things would have been so different if she would have went pro, they would have been the "power tennis couple" instead for sure.
.YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!!?!?!! SINCE WHEN,CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!...💛😢
Have you not watched her past couple vids???
.not a single reply to my questions.. lol
“Say hi, booger sugar☺️😙” so so so cute but had me dying by what that actually means. It’s so funny said in such a cutesy voice. You are a gem, Kennie. And you must be protected at all costs.
The way I yelled “Come On!” when I saw this video on my feed
Wait... Did Kennie miss the signal that Patrick gave Art at the end? 😅
Yeah it seems like she did
@@reynao.3671do u think that Luca should have more diversity in his movies? He only casts white men in his movies
When I found your channel I noticed you and Amanda covered similar movies, but I also realized y'all really do have different takes on them, and highlight different scenes. If y'all do cover the same smaller scene in the movie, yall will have different takes on it, and it gives me more context...cause im most likely am not going to watch these movies, I just like hearing y'all talk about them 🙂
the way i angrily checked my calendar like GIRL IT IS TUESDAY
I LOVED every messy, complicated, toxic, co-dependent minute of this movie! The cinematography - outstanding. IMO, the music was used to make you feel the emotions of the characters versus the actual spoken words. The time jumps are like a tennis match (back and forth). The signal from Patrick letting Art know that he'd screwed Tashi - chef's kiss. Tashi screaming then smiling means she got her wish of just wanting to see good f***ing tennis AND the boys back together again - YES. The best film I've seen in the last few years. It's just BRILLIANT! 10/10
my freshman year of college, Zendaya kept coming to my school to watch tennis matches and practice so the whole school was really confused.
now it makes sense lol
There's something so healing about seeing one of my favorite creators wearing the merch of another favorite creator.
I jumped on this so fast 😂❤️❤️
I’m sorry- “My Uterus” dropping WHEN???
i loved the movie, especially how it takes a more old-fashioned, metaphorical, almost hitchcock-like approach to eroticism, but i agree with the criticism that it could've been gayer. i see a lot of people discuss the same thing, but they do it in a way that completely leaves out tashi. imo, the story can stay, mostly, the same, with some minor adjustments to show the guy's sexualities. to me, the ending of them hugging and tashi cheering them on, doing her trademark "come on" scream was sorta like them all ending up together.
always love your reviews!!!
I feel like another aspect of the challengers movie that is less talked about is the difference between passion and discipline, which is showcased through patrick and art’s personalities. This difference is emphasized in their duo names too: Fire (Patrick) and Ice (Art). And this is my own personal analysis that i’ve gotten from watching commentary vids on the movie but i feel like Tashi was the vehicle that brought the two together (passion and discipline) not just sexually but on the court too. And we see this in the final match, which was a call back to when Tashi said good tennis is not a match but a relationship. Thus, i feel like the main relationship in this film isn’t between art and patrick or art and tashi or patrick and tashi but rather between discipline and passion which are represented through art and patrick. That’s why, maybe…in my opinion, art and patrick play their best tennis when they play against each other or as a team. The two are dependent on each other in a way. because art needs patrick to spark passion in him (i.e. when patrick told art he slept w tashi before serving in the final match) and patrick needs art to remain disciplined
“JUST BE A THROUPLE!” - same thoughts here 😂 that’s what I hope happened after the credits rolled. They all get together and live out their true feelings.
I’m so glad you talked about the music being to loud and how it just kept coming in so abruptly. And yes I agree, they needed to make us care, just a bit by letting us in to see their past, why does she only feel fulfilled with tennis? Why is art a people pleaser, why was the other guy so cool with being a bum but have a rich family? All of which there was room to talk about but that nauseating final tennis scene was what we got. Like it was good but they had room for more for sure.
Even if others have covered it, I like seeing different people's takes on a piece of media, especially if it's really popular or hyped in a specific way. For example, it was cool to watch Princess Weekes' video that delved into Tashi's perspective as a black woman. As a black woman myself, it was interesting to see that aspect explored since it didn't cross my mind all that much while I initially watched it. However, overall, I think my ultimate feelings about the film more align with your take, even if it happened differently for me.
I had never planned on seeing this movie because from the trailers it just looked like 3 people being terrible to each other (which ultimately it kind of was) and, ironically, it was a review talking about the music that got me to see it; I actually really enjoyed the music, because I personally love when music is used in a very directed and artistic way (another recent example is like in Civil War). I get why it can put some people off, but I particularly enjoyed that aspect of the film. It's partially what got me through it. But while I can appreciate the style and direction of the film, particularly the technical aspects, in the end I was left with: "Okay. So Patrick loves Art. Art loves Tashi. Tashi loves tennis." (There are people talking about the idea that tennis loves Patrick as well, which I can also understand.) Basically, these people all love something that doesn't love them back. And while I've come to accept the ending, it wasn't my favorite ending. It was another "okay" from me. The film was good, and in a sea of pretty uninspiring films that don't take much risk, I can see why this was so refreshing. But for me it was good, not great, and in that respect I agree. 7/10 is a solid rating.
However, I will say, through reading other people's reactions I can fully understand why they love the ending, which is just another reason why I enjoy seeing other people's perspectives.
Do you think that Luca should cast black men in his movies? He never has and if you support black lgbtq people you should want that
the music, the hot throuple, I love everything about this movie.
Also Ken, I’m also PMSing and I have been crying every single day. I get it. I absolutely get it. Stay strong, queen
Do u think Luca should cast a black man in his movies? If you support black LGBTQ people you should want that. Luca only cast white actors in his male roles for movies
Love the casual boyfriend drop 😂❤ but yes it does feel very incomplete and the audio sucks ass 🙂↕️
I had to rewind to make sure I heard that correctly 🤣
@@jasminarthur me too 🤣🤣 hit that 15 second rewind like I just had whiplash
I was looking for this comment, I had to rewind as well 🤣
I was shook
your hair looks so good kennie🥺
Do u think Luca should cast black guys in his movies? He never has and if u support blk lgbtq people you should want that
seeing online discourse about this movie has proven to me that people do not understand the concept of eroticism.
“eroticism” is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love.” challengers does this beautifully, but if you wanted something with more explicit sex vs. sensuality, you’re assessing it out of its context.
also - the original script wasn’t queer at all. luca added those dynamics to Art and Patrick himself, which made the movie so much richer and complex, while still staying true to the script. so it’s just funny when people say it’s not queer enough when it wasn’t even supposed to be to begin with.
I would love to see your take on Lisa Frankenstein! It's such a bizarre romp, personally I adore it. Think Sweeney Todd meets Edward Scissorhands/ Corpse Bride. And also Heathers. And also it takes place in 1989. It's written by Diablo Cody (who wrote Juno and Jennifer's Body), directed by Zelda Williams (her directorial debut), and stars Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse. I don't know if you'll love it, but I do know you won't be bored
I’m so glad you brought up the music being wayyyy too loud 👏🏾
My main issue with the film is the need for more depth in the characters. I know they use a lot of symbolism, but it was hard to invest in the characters when so little happened between them.
I absolutely loved the music, I don’t know if I’m biased cause I just like the style of music anyway, but I never see movies really use it in a normal context. it’s always used if the characters are in a club or whatever, so it was interesting hearing it in a movie like this
I will say I loved the detail that they added towards the end when Patrick does Art’s serve to tell him that he slept with his wife 😭🤚🏻
If you'll want to watch a gay movie with Josh O'Connor, please watch God's own country 💖 it's a beautiful gay movie with a happy ending!! One of the best movies I have ever seen
I second this
no, i agree with you in your first thoughts about the film not being "THAT FANTASTIC" and not really "THE RETURN OF TRUE CINEMA". I think it's a fun and enjoyable watch, but i believe our thirst for films other than reboots, sequels, franchises and superhero films is so so so big, that when we see a well crafted film we start crying over it. Calm down people, it's not a masterpiece, it's an ok good film AND THAT'S FINE!
*also u missed the part about patrick telling art during the match about having sex with tashi. also also, i think art is a bitch horrible person as well, he started the whole argument with his sneaky comments about their relationship to both of them.
Actually the big house isn’t Tashi’s, it’s a venue that Adidas rented or something
The “melon scoop my uterus” bit was 10/10! 🥹🫶🏾 FELT! What a writer/performer flex to casually drop that!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
In the future Kennie is casually going to drop the words my husband in a video😂❤
Congratulations queen!!! The way my jaw dropped when she said my boyfriend.
Love the twists!
OMG YES, WAS HOPING FOR THIS ONE
Actually something I learned is that since Art goes over the net in the end means they have to replay point. So, he didn't even win they still have to keep playing. I thought that was genius not going to lie. Plus, I find it so interesting that you didn't like the music (which i loved) and you didn't like Tashi. I loved Tashi because she's just a very blunt person and yeah it's about tennis because it was taken away from her. You see that she tries to go to Stanford and be more but then she has a career ending injury (an injury that both Art and Patrick could have got in the end since they both make the same movement that causes Tashi's) and now she's stuck in this tennis world. She never got past her injury and now she's the version of herself that she at least attempted to avoid. Plus, I think it's unfair to say she only loved tennis. I am apart of the group that believes she loves art and that she would do anything to help them both. I didn't like Art because I thought he was manipulative and played this "I'm a nice guy" persona because it benefitted him. Then he got what he wanted which was Tashi and now he can't live up to her expectations. It's like babe what did you expect??? But, he's a repressed bisexual so he has bigger problems to deal with. It definitely could've been more gay - however I think what they did was good. It was a lot more metaphorical and ambiguous but like you said depending on how you look at it it can reveal or not reveal alot of things about the movie. I think it lends itself to what I would say is the Succession crowd of psycho-character analysis - where the little things they do and say and don't say actually matter. But, if that's not your forte then yeah it's a 7/10 movie. But, for me 9/10. Minus 1 point because of the lack of overly gay.
This this this!!
So well said!
i do think she genuinely loved art but she also loved tennis and the only way for her to reconcile that was through him. she pushes art constantly because he represents what was taken from her, one of her first lines to him is something like "i would kill to have a recovery like you". she tells him she'll leave him if he loses and then rushes to make sure he wins. the love she has for him is muddled with her trauma from losing tennis. i think thats why shes so startled when patrick says that she only loves art because of tennis, not because its true, but because her love for art and her love of tennis is so intertwined that she never realized they were seperate entities she was combining
Actually, replaying the point depends on if he hit the ball before or after he touched the net. I'm pretty sure he hit the ball before and therefore, as long as the ball is called in, he officially wins the challenger.
@@shadypalmtree2989 well…actually his whole knee hits the net before he hits the ball in the film. Hence Tashi’s “come on” in the film.
The uterus melon baller part had me cackling 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣 Kennie is the best!
Tashi is a whole vilain, I saw no growth 😭
The paragraph I sent my friends 😭😭 can you tell I’ve worked at the movies from 16 through college?
So these are my thoughts on challengers:
Fire and ice (art and patrick) were childhood friends that started competing together in tennis doubles. After art and Patrick played that doubles match in the opening scene they were in sync with each other, and were able to grow their love of tennis together over the years.
Tashii: Tashi imo represents their love for tennis, something that they once shared equally (when they were most in sync, i.e: playing doubles matches and winning together) however, they took different paths towards maintaining their “relationship” with tennis. Once they started focusing more on their solo careers / finding themselves outside of this centuries old childhood best friendship is when tashi came into their lives . Remember: For all intents and purposes, tashi is the personification of their love for tennis.
On one hand you have art who went the “safe” way of going pro. You chose to go D1 at school, he followed the advice of his coaches, all the way, until the end. he showed the most “committment” to tennis. On the other hand, you have Patrick, who tried to dive straight into going pro and playing tennis. If you look closely, Tashi ends up with whoever has the most committment to tennis at the moment.
The day patrick essentially said f- tennis / insinuated that he didnt want his life to strictly be about tennis during his fight with tashi, she was injured. Which imo signified that his committment to tennis had broken / suffered irreparable damage this was shown in his immediate decline in respect among his colleagues and his for the most part failure of a career despite being talented - and obviously his relationship with tashi.
On the backend, you have art who is now 100% fully invested in tennis (he piques tashi’s interest) and goes on to have an amazing pro career.
- this is getting long but i promise im wrapping it up -
The day Art loses his confidence in tennis and doesn’t know if he wants to continue playing, Tashi -highkey- starts questioning her happiness in the relationship looking for that commitment to her (tennis) elsewhere.
When art asks her if she’ll leave if he loses and she says yes i was like tashi i knew you was just a tennis ball girl !
The closing scene of them playing into hugging each other and tashi screaming represents the relationship they once shared when they had a synchronous dynamic with each other -similar to when they played doubles- coming back to life.
When tashi called herself a homewrecker she really wasnt lying. The best years of their relationship was when they both loved tennis together/played & trained together. Tashi represents what their dynamic with tennis is like separately / without each other.
okay you actually did something with this!! This is what I was trying to articulate when I watched it with my mom! Their love for tennis (Tashi) would always be unfulfilling as long as they were separate
If yall want a book that has a love triangle between two codependent guy friends and a woman (sometimes), then read The Wicker King!! it’s my favorite book of all time. same amount of codependency & tension between the male characters, but more gay!! 🤭
it was so good that I wanted to read it over the span of a week (at least) cuz I didn’t want it to end. but I prematurely finished it in two days 😔
Thanks for the rec, will definitely check it out!
Thank you for sharing. Im always on the lookout for book recs
"She smiles for the first time in the entire movie" and during the entire hotel & party scene you couldn't wipe the giddy smile off her face if you tried.
Di- I’m sorry did she say “let me read through the messages I sent to my BOYFRIEND”?! When did that happen?! Am I tripping? Congratulations? I would love details!!
It ended and felt like there was a whole act missing in either the middle or the end. I don’t know. I get where guadagnino wanted to take it and his inspiration with the time hopping etc etc, but it fell flat because even at the pace he established he failed to make us ‘relate’ to the characters he made. I agree Art is the only one with enough depth - he’s the only one with an actual ARC that was intentional. He moved from below to above Pat but tbh that’s about it. Pat just fell below him (we don’t even fully get why) and Tashi remains consistent, though I think that was the point… even after her injury she doesn’t grow any remorse just a vague ‘caring’ for Art which she ‘ruins’ by cheating on him in the end
At the end of the movie Patrick did what he did when they were teens and hit the ball like Art, showing he slept with Tashi. So at end of the movie he hold/hits the ball like Art once again. That's why Art gets mad and says "F off" and they really start to play. Patrick said Tashi wouldn't know if he was throwing but that was his sign to egg Art on. Reminding them how much fun they had when they played together in their youth and how they were once friends.
Sorry how is sleeping with your ex friends wife and using that to taunt & manipulate him into playing differently reminding anyone of fun times & friendship???
@@heyheyheyLICyou watched the movie right? That was their whole thing - the whole movie was fighting over her & tennis so the ending wasn’t a stretch (Pat literally kissed Art when he saw Art was jealous that he was dating Tashi). Besides I didn’t write it… don’t be mad with me… I just stated what happened and what Kennie might’ve missed/didn’t mention…
Im kinda glad i didnt see it in theaters 😂 because the sensory overload would've hurt me 😅
I agree, they work best a throuple! They all fulfill something in each other. Yes tennis is Tashi’s first love but I reject the notion Tashi doesn’t love each boy in some way. And the boys don’t work without Tashi. And seeing the director specifically talk about how he intended this to be a throuple/not a love triangle or a singular gay relationship, I went into the movie expecting that and I loved it. I thought it was interesting to see these people struggle with these feelings for each other. And if they knew better how to navigate themselves they could have been together happily.
Ps. At the end I do believe they do come together to be in a throuple relationship. There’s a BTS shooting scene where Tashi runs out to hug both boys. Now that could have been after they called cut but I think director says they left together after that final shot
The uterus song 😂 perfection
Tashi is an insufferable character lol. HOW is she liked?😂😂
Kennie, you look friggin cute ❤ the twists ooo
Watching this video reminds me of that Mensies episode of New Girl. Kennie JD and Jessica Day gave me the most adequate representation of having a period. Thanks for giving us content while going through hell
I maintain that this movie should’ve ended with a threes*me.
your hair looks AMAZING
lol you mentioning Amanda the Jedi. I watched her review and I like to hear your side so now I’m watching yours!
Watching the movie 3x and missing the significance of that serve is crazy.
"Donate My Uterus" is my new favorite song
I feel so seen whenever you're so open about how PMS ruins your life. Like same girl.
ty for this bc i liked the movie but when i saw ppl calling it “genius” i had to keep my mouth shut😭
omg, i finally watched challengers this weekend, and my first thought was, "Did Kennie make a video about it?". i simply love hearing you talk 💖
I also watched Amanda's review and still don't like the idea of the film (haven't and won't watch it). It angers me when writers be like let's use symbols and then we get tennis for relationships, a woman obsessed with tennis but who doesn't give an S about relationships. B*tch, what's the point then?! And wind to show an upset state of mind?! Really?! If we already see her being upset isn't it redundant to have a breeze blowing to tell us she's upset?!
They do a bunch of sh*t for no reason, that's not how art works, if there is no intent and purpose working together, than it's just fluff.
I like how Kennie's videos are both acoustic session, at-home music videos and film reviews
i’m glad i’m not the only one that didn’t feel like this is the most amazing film out there. i think it’s a good movie and story, but it’s a 7/10 for me too. the most exciting part of the movie was at the end with Patrick’s serve and Art’s “fuck off”.
I've been coming across more and more media filled with unlikable protagonists (almost cartoonish level) that make it hard to care about what happens to them. Don't know what's going on in the writer's room these days but it sucks.
Did I watch the movie? Not yet. Did I watch Amanda's video on it? Yes. Am I watching yours? Of course I fucking am! Love both of you, will watch and love whatever you decide to release 💕💕 Hope you feel better soon.
Can you do a whole Pride themed movie review series? We barely see this kinda stuff so I would love to see more of it
One of your videos popped up in the Recommended on an Amanda the Jedi video I was watching and that's how I found you 😂 SO glad I did!!
I havent even seen this movie but really like how Amanda described. So well i actually got emotional when she showed the clip of him catching the other player at the end and them hugging.
Wild lol
Girl same. Im nauseous, hungry, hot from my monthly, and found out im anemic. Im falling apart and want to cry and chicken strips sounds soo good but i dont have any. Wahhh 😢 luv ya girly and your movie reviews, i need new things to check out or laugh at lol!
Lmao I know it was a silly riff but ya girl has VOCALS. 💯
I JUST WATCHED THIS YESTERDAY!!!! Impeccable timing😆✨
Perfect timing for my lunch
The preview didn’t give bi, it just gave two men that were obsessed with the same woman