“McEnroe” - Tribeca Film Fest Review
McEnroe seeks to shed an intimate light on one of the greatest tennis players of all time, John McEnroe. He’s also known as the angriest tennis player of all time, and, for the younger generation, as the narrator for Never Have I Ever. There was an expectation that it would be something more interesting than rehashing Borg v. McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1980.
As it begins, it seems the film will be a documentary that follows John’s life from childhood to present day. There is the story of the time in first grade when he was upset because he received an A- instead of an A+. And a surprisingly long amount of time is spent on John’s current experiences as a father. It’s a refreshing change of pace to have a documentary about a man focus so heavily on how he managed to be a professional athlete and a dad. That usually only exists for women who are at the top of their field.
While the film proves to be a wonderful time capsule for the fashion (and the hair!) of the ’70s and ’80s, there’s not much more to McEnroe. This film is not an illuminating, in-depth look at the “bad boy who grew up into a good man.” Instead, it’s much more meandering, barely scratching the surface of John’s psyche. It will be evident to anyone who watches the film that John and his father have a complicated relationship. His father pushed John to be the best and didn’t see much room for anything else. He was also John’s agent for a long period of time. As the film winds down, John briefly touches on the fact that he wanted to reconcile that relationship before his father passed, but he never had closure.
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McEnroe comes across as a father reminiscing about his youth. To be fair, it is just that. John is clearly a proud father who also revolutionized tennis in a number of ways, so he should have an opportunity to celebrate what he achieved. Unfortunately, the film promised a deep understanding of this man, and that promise was not fulfilled. Obviously, his outbursts were heavily documented, but there was no probing from the filmmaker about where and why they occurred.
The film will also most likely miss the mark for tennis fans. John mentions that he sees the court as a chess board and would mathematically calculate percentages of success based on the square his opponent’s shot fell into. He could’ve spent much more time discussing the skills that went into making his game what it was and why it was so upsetting to so many players of that time. It almost seems as though no one thought there would be tennis players in the audience.
McEnroe is a fine documentary. It doesn’t rock the boat in any way and the execution is pretty standard, but it’s filled entirely with surface material. Even listening to a Q&A after the premiere didn’t push the narrative any further. John has a way of talking in circles without ever fully answering the question that was asked. Instead, he distracts the audience by going off on an elaborate tangent. Unlike many of the calls that caused John to challenge line judges, McEnroe is clearly out of bounds.
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