Apparently, it’s not encouraged to shout, “Alright boys, pucker up!” at a movie theater screen during a packed showing of one of the most anticipated films of the year. God forbid anyone has a little bit of fun. You’re telling me that no one else brought tubes of Blistex to throw at the screen during Challengers? What’s next, I can’t make loud smooching sounds when Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist all gather in a hotel room, even when I’ve seen the movie’s trailer 50 times and I know exactly what’s about to happen? No, you grow up!
Just kidding, I would rather die than be caught dead disrupting a theater. Yet, Challengers has a way of thwarting even our most steadfast moral tenets, prompting audiences to act on impulse. My screening had plenty of gasping, hooting, and cheering as all three characters involved in a tennis-based love triangle wormed their way through each others’ lives. There is so much seduction and subterfuge packed into the film that I found myself holding my breath as often as I did twirling my hair around my finger like a lovestruck schoolgirl with a secret crush. But part of Challengers’ brilliance is that it lets no crush go secret for too long, and it’s impossible to walk away from the movie without feeling like you just got a glimpse of something far more depraved than you were anticipating—in the best possible way. All this immorality is set into motion quickly and carefully, and it’s one steaming hot three-way kiss between the movie’s stars that triggers it.
In case you got clocked in the noggin with a fuzzy green ball and missed the memo, Challengers stars Mike Faist, Zendaya, and Josh O’Connor as a triad of young tennis prodigies, whose expertise is outweighed only by their mutual horniness for one another. This results in some calculating betrayal over the years, as the three of them navigate the ups and downs of their personal and professional lives with about as much care as one would expect from ruthless athletes. There’s plenty of viciousness on and off the court, but the scenes of physical intimacy are just as intense. But don’t be fooled: Challengers isn’t your average two-bit, soft porn Netflix movie. There are few actual sex scenes in the film. In Challengers, the sweaty, grunting tennis matches are the real sex, and glimpses of carnal activity are mere foreplay for what happens in these sequences. And, just like in real life, foreplay sets the tone for what comes next.
