Movie Review: Glow: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (2012)
Synopsis: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, women's professional wrestling gained new attention with the promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW). This documentary discusses the rise and fall of that promotion through interviews with the women that were involved.
Who's in it? The documentary includes interviews with Emily Dole, Dee Booher, and Angelina Altishin
Review: I was in the mood for a documentary earlier today and, even though I had seen Glow: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling before, about a decade ago, I decided to watch it again. My opinion of it was the same as it was the first time I watched it - it was well worth my time.
I remember watching some episodes of GLOW when I was in junior high and high school. However, because it was aired late at night and not on a consistent day/time, it wasn't something I watched as often as I probably would have preferred. This documentary did a good job both reviving the memories of what I did see and filling in a lot of the details I didn't know, including how the women were chosen and the behind-the-scenes history.
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to documentaries is they tend to be one-sided. I had expected that with this film as well but that didn't turn out to be the case. The documentary does glorify the wrestling promotion, something that wasn't much of a surprise. At the same time, however, it still managed to have a decent mix of the good and the bad.
This was especially true of the film's focus on the physical toll wrestling took on the performers' bodies. It honestly wasn't something I was expecting, especially from a show that, at least from my memory, was more about entertainment and scantily clad women than actual physical performances.
The personal interviews with the promotion's most popular performers really drove this dark reality home too. There is something truly humbling about watching Emily Dole (who wrestled as Mt. Fiji) talking about all the good things that came from wrestling during an interview conducted at the nursing home she was confined to at the age of 55 because of various health problems (Dole died in 2018 at the age of 60). It really put a whole lot of things into a new perspective.
Final Opinion: I had my doubts when I first watched this documentary but after doing so and re-watching it, it is one I do recommend even if you aren't a professional wrestling fan.
My Grade: A
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