Until I was around 12 years old, wrestling was always a pretty big deal. WWE and WWF dominated Saturday and Sunday morning TV, and even though we all (mostly) knew it was all fake, you must admit, you were always thoroughly entertained. In the years since I have not watched any wrestling shows mainly because there was nothing new that drew me in. Enter Netflix's new original comedy GLOW: campy, spandex fuelled and unashamedly fun.
GLOW: the plot
Set in the 1980's, GLOW follows out of work actress Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) who finds herself at an audition for a part on GLOW, where she is instantly dismissed for overacting on stage.
Undeterred, she returns the next day having watched wrestling moves to copy, when her best friend and former soap opera star Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin) who upon finding out Ruth had an affair with her husband, attacks her in a real catfight in front of the director Sam (Marc Maron.) Seeing their rivalry as the selling point of the show, he enlists them both, making Debbie the star of the show “Liberty Belle” with Ruth playing rival “Zoya the Destroyer.” The rest of the series tells the story of a bunch of misfits, comprised of struggling actresses and stunt women, becoming convincing glittery spandex clad female wrestlers, but, most importantly, a loving team. Yes, it's cheesy as hell, but what part of glittery spandex did you think wouldn't be?
The cast
Brie and Gilpin are dynamic and compelling in their roles and their chemistry arguably keeps the first two or three episodes alive. If you hang in there after these episodes, you will be highly rewarded as the entire cast is without question GLOW's biggest asset and their stories slowly unfold. The rest of the cast is comprised of British pop singer Kate Nash as Rhonda "Britannica" Richardson, actual Women’s Wrestling Champion Kia Stevens as Tammé "the Welfare Queen" Dawson, American Idol’s Jackie Tohn as Melanie "Melrose" Rosen, British filmmaker Marianna Palka as Reggie Walsh, comedian Sunita Mani as Arthie "Beirut the Mad Bomber" Premkumar, Scottish actress Gayle Rankin as Sheila "the She-Wolf and Scot Pilgrim actress Ellen Wong as Jenny "Fortune Cookie" Chey with newcomers Britney Young as Carmen "Machu Pichu" Wade and Britt Baron as Justine "Scab" Biagi.
Feminist wrestling
The show is female heavy, and unashamedly, but not aggressively, feminist; which for a wrestling show is incredibly refreshing. Producers Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch make it very unclear throughout the series whether the women are being empowered or exploited, but they do make a point of showing Feminism at its best; women of all shapes, sizes, and creeds helping and promoting other women to be amazing.
With no stunt doubles used, the actresses really did their own stunts and with the production team all headed up by females, it makes this wrestling show uniquely feminine, extremely campy and one helluva good time. And in a world where the news is seemingly a daily reel of terrible tragedies, GLOW truly is the show that can transport us away from it all, even just for a few hours.
