Raising Tennis Aces - The Williams Story
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With authorized bios like this, who needs exposés? While thrilling tournament footage attests to Venus and Serena Williams's domination of tennis, they come off as mere pawns to their father, self-proclaimed "master planner" Richard, who, as the narrator informs viewers, "single-mindedly raised two sporting champions." Richard has served as the sisters' manager, coach, and father, and according to this program he planned his daughters' destinies before they were born. There is no arguing with his success, which is delineated in the number of championships won, the endorsements earned, and the sisters' phenomenal net worth. But self-deprecation ("I'm just a poor little cotton picker") is not Richard's game. "People look up to me wherever I go," he states at one point. "It's like I'm a god almost." There is much here to inspire young fans, who may enjoy the charming home movie footage and living vicariously through the women's glamorous off-court activities, which range from fashion shoots and music video appearances to commercials. But Richard's harrowing memories of growing up in the segregated South may be too graphic for some. --Donald Liebenson
Description
The lives and careers of the tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams are documented, with special attention paid to the training techniques of their father Richard Williams.
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Raising Tennis Aces - The Williams Story
Starring: Venus Williams , Serena Williams , and Richard Williams Manufacturer: Xenon ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD  Biography
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ASIN: B0000714F3 Release Date: 2003-01-21 |
Amazon.com
With authorized bios like this, who needs exposés? While thrilling tournament footage attests to Venus and Serena Williams's domination of tennis, they come off as mere pawns to their father, self-proclaimed "master planner" Richard, who, as the narrator informs viewers, "single-mindedly raised two sporting champions." Richard has served as the sisters' manager, coach, and father, and according to this program he planned his daughters' destinies before they were born. There is no arguing with his success, which is delineated in the number of championships won, the endorsements earned, and the sisters' phenomenal net worth. But self-deprecation ("I'm just a poor little cotton picker") is not Richard's game. "People look up to me wherever I go," he states at one point. "It's like I'm a god almost." There is much here to inspire young fans, who may enjoy the charming home movie footage and living vicariously through the women's glamorous off-court activities, which range from fashion shoots and music video appearances to commercials. But Richard's harrowing memories of growing up in the segregated South may be too graphic for some. --Donald LiebensonDescription
The lives and careers of the tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams are documented, with special attention paid to the training techniques of their father Richard Williams.Customer Reviews:
INSPIRATIONAL AND COURAEOUS.......2006-05-27
Inspirational.......2003-03-07
The story is one that's not often told in perspective, and is really pretty interesting. Father Richard Williams had a rough life. He grew up poor (in rural Louisiana), with his absent father living down the street and providing nothing. He watched one childhood friend get run down by a white woman in a car, apparently intentionally. (Williams shows us the tree he planted at the time, in his friend's honor, now a large flowering tree). He had a nail driven into his leg because he wouldn't call a white man "sir" on a golf course. He had nothing. He moved to Compton, worked menial jobs, eventually worked his way to having his own security company. He had the idea to train future children to play tennis, because there was money in it. He subsequently trained Venus and Serena, unconventionally, while raising them (with his wife) to reflect what he describes as values that were strong in past eras - including love of family and poise under stressful circumstance. You can see where his goals in raising them mirror the same goals most of us have in raising children - for them to be happy AND to understand how to take responsibility for their own lives.
Not everything possible is here - Oracene/Brandy (the mother) isn't featured at all, and there are a few hard question that could be asked that aren't. But what is here is interesting and inspirational. The DVD has a nice set of extra interviews and extra footage.
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