McEnroe main backdrop
McEnroe main poster

6.0/10 • 25

2022-07-151h 44m

Documentary

The price of perfection

Legendary "bad boy of tennis" John McEnroe finally tells his side of his storied career and famously hot-tempered performances on the court in this engrossing documentary revisiting the record-setting career of one of the all-time greats.

Directors
Barney Douglas
Writters
Barney Douglas
Editors
Barney Douglas, Steve Williams

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. John McEnroe

    John McEnroe

    Self

  2. Patty Smyth

    Patty Smyth

    Self

  3. Kevin McEnroe

    Kevin McEnroe

    Self

  4. Emily McEnroe

    Emily McEnroe

    Self

  5. Ruby Smyth Meyers-McEnroe

    Ruby Smyth Meyers-McEnroe

    Self

  6. Anna McEnroe

    Anna McEnroe

    Self

  7. Ava McEnroe

    Ava McEnroe

    Self

  8. Mark McEnroe

    Mark McEnroe

    Self

  9. Patrick McEnroe

    Patrick McEnroe

    Self

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 22, 2022

6/10

Whilst it is quite interesting, this documentary, it is still little better than a self-indulgent reminiscence by the man himself that features virtually no contributions from those folks who suffered from his petulance and immaturity - both on the court and elsewhere. Set against a long stroll through his haunts in New York, it takes us on a chronologically ordered career retrospective focussing on his rise to global success on the tennis court; his "superbrat" behaviour and his flawed relationships with friends and family alike but it's all done very much on his own terms. His moments of revelation - long since appreciated by anyone who watched him and his tantrums as they grew up (including me) - are presented by him in an almost celebratory way. Could he have achieved what he did - which, by even the standards of the day in his sport are nothing particularly remarkable - without the attention seeking strops? Sure there was gamesmanship going on a-plenty, but he seemed to revel in the extent to which he "recreated" tennis - or that is certainly the perspective I took from this very disappointing Barney Douglas feature. It completely lacks objectivity allowing this undoubtedly talented but supremely peevish man to write his own story and though there is the slightest hint of a mea culpa at the end, it's all very much "How History Should Remember John McEnroe" - by John McEnroe himself. Worth a watch, but under-delivers.

Media

  • McEnroe poster
  • McEnroe poster
  • McEnroe poster
  • McEnroe poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
tennis playersports documentary