GLOW - Pilot

You know that old saying, “desperate times call for desperate measures”? Well, that is where going-nowhere actress, Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), is at in her life and career. There are no parts Ruth seems fit for, auditioning over and over again to no avail. It isn’t for a lack of trying. Her love life is in the shits, too. Her best friend, Debbie (Betty Gilpin), is there for moral support not realizing Ruth is fucking her husband (he slips in through her window despite Ruth’s efforts to get rid of him). Ruth is offered porn if she is so inclined as the casting director is startled by her in the bathroom. A gig does come up if Ruth can succeed…ladies wrestling!

As a kid I actually did watch G.L.O.W. [Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling]. And yes I loved it. It was just simply awful, though. So delightfully kitschy and amateurish. Badly acted and performed trash, GLOW was like grilled cheese when the fine cuisine isn’t desired. And many of us do shine to a little of the lower rent pleasures. Big hair, loud costumes, high school theatrics, and lousy storylines offered quite a rotten cocktail just too much fun to pass up. I remember distinctly reacting with a fair share of giggles, the hilarity derived from the show’s value as a “well, that happened” oddity. And it gleaned some punch from the era’s WWF popularity boon but didn’t have the endurance to last because after a while a bit too much junk food is bad for you.

Netflix has this available and because I’m a wrestling fan and have been one since the early 80s (when I was six years old), GLOW was certainly a curiosity I couldn’t possibly pass up. The pilot gives me a lot of hope as the approach is smart, funny, and quirky. And its focus is on women struggling in a man’s world, with Netflix once again scoring bullseyes in its casting department. I can already tell I’ll fall in love with these ladies as they try and hash out characters and get down the wrestling in order to keep this steady job when such gigs are few and far between.

Brie, as the frustrated actress browbeaten by auditions that don’t pan out and acting classes that bore those in attendance into stupors, shines in her part. She’s willing to get naked, which surprised me quite frankly. Undressing after her exercise workout and fucking Gilpin’s hubby, Brie isn’t afraid to bare all. Anyway she nails the struggling actress surviving on cereal and tacos who has so few options she’s bound and determined to make it in GLOW despite being skinny and unintimidating. She even has her purse and taco ripped away by kids just starting shit because they are little assholes. Her keys in that purse, too! A great scene has Ruth “learning her trade” while watching Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair on the tube, putting together a costume and “getting in character”.

Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron) is the promoter/director in charge of putting together the show and talents, cutting down the cast, which includes Ruth who leaves him unimpressed because she wants to method act in the ring! Sylvia snorts coke off his desk and critiques the girls in the stands outside the ring, always honest about what he sees. Ruth is determined, though. Her “ring return” would be considered yet another failure if Debbie hadn’t arrived looking to confront the supposed friend who slept with her husband, betraying her trust. Sylvia sees potential in Debbie when she pins Ruth to the mat as the credits roll! Never had I imagined two ladies battling it out to Journey as the fans eat up every maneuver and pose! John Hennigan (pro wrestler, John Morrison) guest stars as a wrestling veteran training the ladies how to bounce off the ropes, flip across the mat, and perform basic moves.

As the series continues and I write about it, I’ll dwell more on the other ladies rounding out the GLOW cast.