Movies

Lovers or Love Triangle?: Unpacking Queer Characters in ‘Challengers’

Faithe J Day
The Ugly Monster
12 min readMay 5, 2024

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Photo by Dean Ricciardi on Unsplash

I rarely go to the movie theater, but I’ve been eagerly waiting for the release of ‘Challengers’ after seeing the trailer a few months ago. In watching the previews, the film is presented as a romantic sports drama about two professional tennis players who were once friends until a woman came between them. According to the Apple TV description, the film centers on a love triangle between Tashi (played by Zendaya), her husband Art (played by Mike Faist), and his former friend Patrick (played by Josh O’Connor).

After watching the film, I realized it isn’t the typical love triangle portrayed in the trailer and marketing. And, while some people have accused the movie of queer-baiting, the actual narrative feels more like straight-baiting because the promotion of Zendaya’s seductive side and her central role in the love triangle is misleading. Instead, the film uses sound and cinematography to tell a story of a sad and unrequited love between friends.

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Faithe J Day
The Ugly Monster

Writer, Creator, and Educator. Millennial and Internet Expert. Learn more at https://fjday.com