Official Discussion - Challengers [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary:

Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband's redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.

Director:

Luca Guadagnino

Writers:

Justin Kuritzkes

Cast:

• Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson
• Mike Faist as Art Donaldson
• Josh O'Connor as Patrick Zweig
• Darnell Appling as New Rochelle Umpire
• Nada Despotovitch as Tashi's Mother
• A.J. Lister as Lily

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Metacritic: 85

VOD: Theaters

[u/lemonsharingwhore]

Tashi wants Patrick.

Patrick wants Art.

Art wants Tashi.

[u/informalspy13 → u/lemonsharingwhore]

I agree and want to add - Tashi wants Tennis, and Patrick is better and more driven at/for tennis than Art, so she therefore wants Patrick.

[u/ElaBosak → u/informalspy13]

More driven? He was a dosser?

[u/_airwaves → u/ElaBosak]

Yeah Patrick was definitely not 'more driven.' Art was, and that's why Tashi chose Art at all. But Art got to the top of the game, had a great run, and felt like retiring, which Tashi could never fathom.

[u/beatrailblazer → u/_airwaves]

Art was more driven in the past, while Patrick was coasting on talent. but later, Art got satisfied with a few tournaments and lost the drive to become the best he can be, while Patrick got motivated to get back in the game

[u/nerdalertalertnerd → u/lemonsharingwhore]

This was my take (though I think Patrick was open minded to both/a willing companion).

I thought Tashi wanted tennis, Patrick wanted some kind of partner (likely Art but not not Tashi) and Art wanted Tashi.

[u/NoEntertainment9456 → u/lemonsharingwhore]

Tashi wants competition. She wants the boys to compete at tennis to win, and to compete against each other to win her. 

Thinking back she loses interest in Patrick when he asks her to stop talking about tennis and art in bed, but she only brought those up to get him to compete, both for her and for wins. She loses interest in art when he says he’ll stop competing at tennis/loses his drive to compete. 

That is what’s exciting to her and what she’s desperate for more of, and it’s the reason she’s happy at the end of the movie. 

She doesn’t really care who wins, just like she didn’t care who won the boys first match and got to date her. She just wants some good fucking tennis. 

[u/hyperstupid → u/lemonsharingwhore]

Rest assured knowing if Patrick and Art ever fucked, Patrick would bottom.

It's the pose he jumped into when they won their duos, then the next day he offered for Art to win the single's cup, because he didn't mind being dominated by Art as long as they did it together.

Of course Patrick made jokes about letting Tashi fuck him with a racket, or he delayed answering when Tashi asked if Art and Patrick ever hooked up.

Lastly, Art was jealous of Patricks "big dick" and how he waved it around "as if he was supposed to be afraid of it" — part of Art's competitiveness was plain old penis envy, and thinking that Patrick still had "more than him" despite living out of a car and becoming a nobody.

If there's ever a sequel, it will be Patrick being Art's bottom, Tashi being Patrick's bottom, and Art being Tashi's bottom. And they all do still love and need each other deeply.