Who is Stan Smith? For many, just the alliterate name of a popular Adidas shoe and collection. No man behind the sneaker. For others, his tennis career sparks great memories, once reaching the top as the world’s #1 male tennis player. And for others, tennis was merely the vehicle for the man to help and stand up for others.

Is tennis having a resurgent moment? As current legends of the game phase out of their prime and/or have retired in Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, the sport seems to be in a mode of transition, but with features like the recently released Challengers, the upcoming Alcaraz Netflix docuseries, and the recently released Who is Stan Smith?, tennis feels apt to use its sport dynamics to make observations, whether sexual and power-based physiological ones (Challengers), or in the case of the Smith documentary, how the usually individual sport can serve as a catalyst for exposure to different experiences.

Directed by Danny Lee, Who is Stan Smith? is fairly formulaic in its setup, leaning into its subject to fill in to an audience to shed light on the athlete’s upbringing and career touchpoints. The doc shines though, especially as Smith recounts his friendship with fellow player and activist Arthur Ashe. It’s a touching relationship that seems to play a big role in the humanitarian efforts Smith would immerse himself in as his career continued on well past his athletic peak. From being a prominent figure in the strengthening of the Association of Tennis Professionals to the support of Mark Mathabane—a South African kid child the time Smith and his wife Margie helped escape apartheid, Smith never comes off as preachy or a savior, just someone deeply committed to doing the right thing and putting in the effort to make it so.

Smaller moments with Smith sharing how he found soulmate Margie and the role tennis had in doing so are not massive details but they serve to show how Stan is a simple man who is and was more than OK with being just a great husband, father, and now granddad. As for the shoes, cool insight is given towards how they came to be, and how they evolved from cutting-edge-for-their-time athlete wear to fashionable staples. Lee highlights the parallels between the unassuming but presence-commanding Smith and his shoe, an uncomplicated design that accentuated nearly any fit that the wearer was sporting without overpowering it- a figurative perfect fit for 80’s fashion and culture.

The shoe itself might make up solely 10 or so percent of the doc, but Who is Stan Smith? provides a solid view into one of tennis’ most important figures. By the end of the feature, Smith’s footprint on things beyond fashion becomes easy to see.

B+

Photo credits are courtesy of Cinematic Red PR and realscreen.com.

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