GLOW: The Story of The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
August. 21,2012
The year is 1986. Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) is about to burst onto the scene as the first ever all-female wrestling show on television. By 1989, the GLOW girls were an international phenomenon, attracting over seven million viewers worldwide, touring the nation and making big bank for the show's producers. One year later, GLOW was gone. GLOW: THE STORY OF THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING chronicles the rise and fall of this hit television show through the stories of those who lived it. For some, the show was a brief foray into acting and a short-lived adventure. For others, their time in GLOW would impact and influence their lives for years to follow. For all of the women, working on GLOW was a unique and exciting experience that will bond them forever.
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Reviews
Wonderful character development!
Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Simply Perfect
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Like many, I watched this documentary on Netflix after I saw the Netflix drama series with Alison Brie about GLOW. I was in my mid-20s when GLOW was on TV in the mid-80's, so I knew something about it. So I was a bit disappointed in this documentary. It was really hard to get a sense of what the series was like during that time. The documentary focused on a few of the wrestlers (such as Mountain Fiji and Matilda the Hun), but I remember a few other notable wrestlers in that series (including the no-longer-politically correct heel from the Middle East called Palestina), and they weren't talked about at all.The problem with this movie is that without David McLane (the creator of GLOW) or Matt Cimber (the director of most GLOW episodes) participating in this documentary (they both apparently refused when asked to participate) there's just a lot that isn't there. It kind of reminded me of the documentary "Disgraced" about the murder of a Baylor college basketball player by one of his teammates, when they got refusals to participate from Baylor University, most of the teammates, and most of the attorneys who worked the case. That left much missing from the film, as is the case here. I understand that you work with what you can work with, but there is always the risk that the result is not as good as it could have been. And that is what the case is here.
"GLOW: The Story of The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling" chronicles the rise and fall of the first ever all-female wrestling show through the stories of those who lived it.With Matt Cimber on board, and Jackie Stallone of all people out front, this looks like a lot of fun. Why did I not see this in the 1980s? Did my local station not carry it? This takes the cheese of the WWF and kicks it up a notch. And, in a small way, is sort of prescient about women's wrestling.I do wish Cimber would have agreed to being interviewed. Between this, his films, and his relationships, he is one of the more interesting people in Hollywood and is very much unknown to the general public. We really need to get him on the record more.
If you love GLOW Netflix and our documentary please be sure to follow the Original Ladies of GLOW @GLOWwrestling xoSee the new generation of GLOW on NF and see how it compares to Classic GLOW. We would Love your input on Twitter! Do you want to see the original Ladies of GLOW on The New Netflix GLOW in at least cameos message NetlflixGLOW and tell then you want the classic ladies to be a part of the show too!
In the 1980s, Saturday morning TV programming was riddled with insanity. There was ALF TALES. LAZER TAG ACADEMY. And also something called IT'S PUNKY BREWSTER, which was not PUNKY BREWSTER, but an animated version of PUNKY BREWSTER starring the voice of Punky Brewster. That show ran for two seasons.GLOW: GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING was the long-running, live-action television program that featured chainsaw attacks, Borscht Belt comedy, and a wrestler named Vixxxen. It was kind of like WWF, but with a cast of women and camcorder production values. In other words, GLOW was way more entertaining and hilarious than anything else on Saturday morning TV, including RUDE DOG AND THE DWEEBS. Glitter! Spandex! Jackie Stallone! Completely over-the-top and possibly conceptualized by an alzheimer's patient, the show was everything a ten-year-old could ask for on Saturday morning. It's also everything a mid-thirties-year-old could ask for on any day of the week. Trust me.Now, over twenty years after the cancellation of GLOW, the filmmakers behind ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION have given us GLOW: THE STORY OF THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING. It's exactly what you'd hope to hear about while watching a documentary on GLOW. The faux-glamor. The dirt. The bone-popping-out-of-someone's-arm. But then, about halfway through, it's understood that the wrestler once known as Mount Fiji is a real, actual person. Her name is Emily Dole. Because of her time with GLOW, Dole is bedridden.The lives of the GLOW ladies aren't mired down in crack addiction, suicide, or other kinds of horribleness. Sadness is present, as it is with anyone who has blood pumping through their veins. But this is sadness as a means of personal growth. And seeing that unfold before our eyes -- that feels good. As much as I laughed at the ridiculous vintage GLOW footage that was thrown at my face every few minutes, I was surprised by how the real-life story behind GLOW made me feel. That dichotomy between the ironic and the sincere doesn't always work in 'talking heads' documentaries -- forced intentions are obvious from a mile away. Not here, though. This is a genuinely entertaining documentary that plays no tricks and keeps things sincere. And since this isn't a doc about Investment Bankers, but about THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING!!!!, I fully guarantee your enjoyment.Joseph A. Ziemba
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