This kitchy movie arrives as a quirky and funny footnote to "Million Dollar Baby," and dispels any notion that these brawny pin-up women were ever anything more or less than a batch of tough broads.
Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:23
Rotten:14
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: This documentary on the early days of women's wrestling features an array of colorful, compelling personalities.
Theatrical Release:Mar 25, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Before Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and the stars of Vince McMahon’s WWE took pro wrestling to new heights in American culture, pro wrestling was a small, relatively disorganized network of small time... Before Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and the stars of Vince McMahon’s WWE took pro wrestling to new heights in American culture, pro wrestling was a small, relatively disorganized network of small time promoters, con-men, and over-the-top characters who brought their unique brand of showmanship to audiences around the nation. A cornerstone of the success of these promotions was the rise of women’s professional wrestling in the 1940’s and 50’s. Lipstick and Dynamite is a look into the lives of the women who made their living on the professional wrestling circuit. Full of outstanding archival footage of wrestlers like The Fabulous Moolah and Johnnie Mae Young, Lipstick and Dynamite is primarily concerned with the lives of hardship and hard work these superstars of the ring created for themselves. It could have been the sex, money, injuries, and intrigue that dominated their lives on the road, but the competitive passion of these women have for their sport shines through in director Ruth Leitman’s touching portrait of women who lived hard, and fought even harder. -- © Ruthless Films [More]
Director: Ruth Leitman
Director: Ruth Leitman
Studio: Koch Lorber Films
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Reviews for Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling
There is a great film to be made about the grappling glamazons who helped blaze a trail that lead to legitimizing women's athletics. This is not that movie, however.
Talk about being ahead of your time. Most of these women were living independently by the age of about 15, and took their place in a man's world through herculean effort.
Leitman gives these golden girls a voice -- that is the film's success. The failure is the narrative.
Leitman gives us a comprehensive array of pinup photos, news clips and wrestling footage from these women's younger years, and gives the women plenty of camera time to emerge as individuals and personalities.
The film dwells more upon the sensational aspects than the sport itself but it's impossible to deny the sheer tawdry entertainment value in this compelling film tabloid.
Don't expect the inside scoop so much as an unsatisfying slice of life.
What we get is essentially the press-book version of their careers, which is harrowing enough.
That octogenarians can be so full of antagonistic joie de vivre is one of the giddiest revelations of Leitman's film.
Too shapeless...but the topic is worthy, and the onslaught of trivia and quirky anecdotes hold interest for the film’s 75 minutes.
Doesn't succeed in its attempt to make a feminist statement, with too many of the wrestlers sounding like male athletes who talk in excruciating detail about high school football seasons that everyone else forgot.
Docu moves at a snappy pace, threading together recent interview material with a treasure trove of vintage footage.
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