GLOW: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

I realize not everyone shares my enthusiasm for women's wrestling. That's because you are wrong. But, whatever. If you can't get behind the idea of hot women knocking each other to the mat in glitter makeup and neon 80's leotards, complete with ridiculous theatrics, props, horses, fire, feather shoulder pads, and chainsaws, then I can't explain to you what's awesome about it. Either you're one of those joyless "it's not real wrestling" purists or you're just a miserable person in general. So, maybe this movie is not for you.

For the rest of us: seriously, you need to rejoice, because "G.L.O.W: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling" is now available on Netflix and Amazon.


 I've been looking forward to being able to feature this documentary ever since I saw it at Austin Film Fest.  (In the interest of full disclosure: I myself did a very brief stint in the world of wrestling promotion as Jungle Girl, so my interest in this movie was, at least partially, to reassure myself that there are other freaks out there like myself who enjoy this stuff). When I saw it in 2012, I was expecting an in-depth look into a corner of the wrestling world that's largely neglected. I didn't know squat about GLOW before I heard of this doc, so I was also hoping it would be be a good introduction for the wrestling n00b.

The documentary definitely delivers in both departments. Whether you remember watching GLOW while doing bong hits in your dorm room on Sunday morning, or you've never heard of them before, you will be totally engaged by these gorgeous grapplers. There are some surprises here (my jaw hit the floor when I found out they trained eight hours a day to prepare for the GLOW bouts. Eight hours a day! Of wrestling! That is some hardcore shit!), but what surprised me most was how much I warmed up to the deeply human story of the people behind the campy costumes. Without giving too much away, I will just say that half the audience at AFF was sniffling and wiping away tears when Mount Fiji talked about what GLOW meant to her. And not the female half, either.

So go check it out on Netflix. And if you want more, I hear that the DVD version will be released with a special second disc feature, that includes every episode of GLOW that aired in the 80's.

(Note to the distributor: if you guys did a special release of nothing but Chainsaw and Spike's skits,  I would buy that too. Just sayin.')