Shattering the Celluloid Ceiling
"The Hunt" is one of the few films currently on-demand after the majority of movie theatres have mandatorily closed due to COVID 19. It's no secret this film comes with a small wave of controversy as it was pushed back after an unfortunate mass shooting. Also, another layer of discussion was added after the plot of the film was revealed.
There are few actresses who give full-on, metaphorical balls-to-the-wall performances. Betty Gilpin is one of those people. She gives immensely high-caliber performances every time she is on screen. So, with the release of “The Hunt” (2020) fast approaching it is time we take a moment to appreciate the underappreciated Betty Gilpin. Gilpin has been working long before her turn as actress-turned-wrestler on Netflix’s “GLOW.” But it has been her Emmy-nominated performance as Debbie Eagan and wrestling alter-ego Liberty Belle that has shone a light on her innate talent.
It is a show run by women, about women, and about women using their bodies not for the benefit of men but for the benefit of themselves. As someone who has been inundated with images of how a woman should look and can’t look, it is powerful see a group of women who show that there is no wrong way to look or be or exist. That every woman has strength in her.
GLOW - The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling - is a based-on-a-true-concept type sitcom (? drama ? sit-ma ?) about a women’s wrestling in the eighties. It’s a feminist by default excuse to recreate the most extreme looks of 80s women's fashion and some of the most cliched of 80s women's problems with some kitschy wrestling scenes and liberal politics thrown in for good measure. Like the "A-Team" meets "A League of Their Own" meets "Tiffany" but with heart.
