Staying Fit
This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a groundbreaking law that granted girls and women the right to equal opportunity in sports at educational institutions that receive federal funds. Perhaps coincidentally, on August 12, Amazon Prime is releasing a new television adaptation of A League of Their Own, which follows new characters and story lines in the same universe of World War II–era women’s baseball as the 1992 flick. Created by Will Graham (the showrunner of Mozart in the Jungle) and Abbi Jacobson (costar and cocreator of Comedy Central’s Broad City), the show will star Jacobson, Chanté Adams (A Journal for Jordan), D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place), Roberta Colindrez (Broadway’s Fun Home) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as the team’s coach, Casey “Dove” Porter. Much like in real life, women athletes haven’t always gotten the attention they deserve in sports movies and TV shows, but we’ve drafted a watch list of a dozen woman-centered stories you can stream this summer — including, of course, the Penny Marshall–directed classic.
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Battle of the Sexes (2017)
Emma Stone shines as feminist tennis icon Billie Jean King (78) in this biopic from Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton (65) and Valerie Faris (63). The centerpiece of the film is the infamous 1973 matchup between the 29-year-old King and the 55-year-old ex-champion Bobby Riggs, a hustler and gambling addict who revels in his male chauvinism and is played to sleazy perfection by usual nice guy Steve Carell, 59. Reliving this pivotal moment in the history of women’s sports in America may elicit a twinge of nostalgia, so it’s no wonder that the movie was nominated for an AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Time Capsule.
Most valuable player: Stone, who gained 15 pounds of muscle during her three months of training and spent time with King to master every tiny detail, like the way she always bounced the ball twice before a serve.
Watch it: Battle of the Sexes on Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Much like the aspiring young soccer players at its heart, this British comedy by director Gurinder Chadha, 62, proved to be the little film that could: With a modest budget of just $5.6 million, it went on to become the highest-grossing film ever about soccer — or, uh, football. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the daughter of a traditionalist Indian Sikh family living in London who loves playing soccer and idolizes David Beckham. When her new friend Jules (Keira Knightley) invites her to join a local amateur squad, Jess must decide whether she’s willing to go against the wishes of her parents to pursue her sports dreams.
Most valuable player: Nagra, who did 20 weeks of intense training with English coach Simon Clifford and eventually mastered the signature title move of “bending” the ball. Chadha has said that when she finally got the kick right, “everybody jumped up and cheered.”
Watch it: Bend It Like Beckham on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, HBO Max
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Blue Crush (2002)
Amateur surfer Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) lives with her teen sister (Mika Boorem) and her two best friends, Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake), in a tiny beach shack on Oahu’s North Shore, in this sun-drenched love letter to the world of surfing. Sure, you’ll get all the requisite wanderlust-inspiring Hawaii content you crave (golden tans, on-location beach shots, appearances from real surfers), but what makes the film resonate is its depiction of the hard work the women put in — including as housekeepers at a luxury resort — to make their big-wave dreams come true.
Most valuable player: Lake, a pro surfer who went on to sign a Billabong contract like the one Anne Marie is trying for in the film.
Watch it: Blue Crush on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Peacock
Cheer (2020–22)
This Emmy-winning Netflix reality series charts the ups and downs (and launches and human pyramids and crashes and falls) of the nationally ranked Navarro College Bulldogs cheer team as they prepare for the annual championship tournament in Daytona Beach. The cheering is, of course, wildly impressive, but the show’s addictive magic comes from getting to know the inspiring team members, like the “cheer-lebrity” Gabi Butler and the team’s lovable black sheep with a troubled past, Lexi Brumback.
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