“Battle of the Sexes” uses sports – the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs – as a backdrop, but it has plenty more to say at its core.

It’s a film about the rise of feminism that shows how that fight continues today, even echoing some themes from the recent presidential election. While the film has its flaws, it is still an intriguing piece of cinema from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directing team behind “Little Miss Sunshine.”

While the infamous tennis match is the destination, “Sexes” spends most of its time exploring the two contestants’ path to that event.

King (Emma Stone) was a rising star in women’s tennis, fighting for equal pay for women – a fight that led her to establish a women’s-only league with the help of Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman). With the weight of women’s tennis on her shoulders, King struggles with her own exploration of her sexuality, torn between her supportive husband (Austin Stowell) and a mysterious hairdresser (Andrea Riseborough).

Riggs (Steve Carrell) is a former tennis champion turned hustler who sees the exhibition against King as a chance to be in the spotlight again, gleefully taking the male chauvinist role, much to the chagrin of his wife (Elizabeth Shue).

As the two storylines unwind, “Battle of the Sexes” feels a little too busy. It tries to strike a balance between Riggs and King (although this is more about King than Riggs, ultimately). As those stories evolve, the film moves forward well enough but lacks the spark viewers would expect.

That spark finally comes when we get to the match and its buildup. At that point, “Sexes” hits its stride and turns into the crowd-pleasing film the trailer suggests.

Stone is fine as King in a solid performance, but it never feels like she transforms into the role as much as Carrell does with Riggs. Carrell’s work is so strong, bringing out the flaws in this gambler so effectively, that I wish he would have been given more screen time.

Instead, more time is devoted to Riseborough’s hairdresser, who feels more like a tacked-on subplot than a fully fleshed character.

If “Battle of the Sexes” had found a way to balance the King and Riggs stories a little more, it could have been a strong contender for year-end 10-best lists. It’s still adequate as it is, with some hints at what could have been.

Also in theaters

After a couple of setbacks with “The Mummy” and “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” Tom Cruise is back to doing what he does best in “American Made” (B).

Based on the true story of an American pilot named Barry Seal who became a drug runner for the CIA, “American Made” finds Cruise in his comfort zone – playing the kind of cocky character that is the foundation of the 55-year-old actor’s career.

Seal, who started as a commercial pilot stuck in a dead-end career, was approached by a man named Shafer (Domhnall Gleeson) about working as an operative for the CIA.

At first, Seal is just providing covert photos, but before long the job expands, with Seal making millions working with everyone from Pablo Escobar to Manuel Noriega in what was basically the beginning of the Iran-Contra affair.

Director Doug Liman brings the same frenetic pace that he did to his previous films like “Go” and “The Bourne Identity,” using the 1980s backdrop to showcase the insanity of the entire story. It’s a film that manages to be humorous and horrifying at the same time, with references to everyone from Oliver North to Bill Clinton to Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes sprinkled in throughout.

But mainly this is a showcase for Cruise, kind of a spin on the Maverick days from “Top Gun.” Cruise sells it all with such passion and gusto that you can’t help but sit back and enjoy “American Made.” It’s flashy, a little manic, and at times pretty crazy, but also something a little deeper – an interesting commentary on the era of excess, and the lengths one man would go to achieve his success.

“American Made” is rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity and is now playing at the Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10 and Highland Cinemas in Glasgow.

Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carrell

Directed by: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content and partial nudity

Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12 (opens Friday)

Grade: B-