{"id":39261,"date":"2017-09-11T15:14:36","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T22:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39261"},"modified":"2021-02-03T19:26:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T02:26:00","slug":"below-the-belt-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39261","title":{"rendered":"Below the Belt (1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;She&#8217;s stronger than she looks &#8212; I&#8217;m working on the image!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Poster-208x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-39264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Poster-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Poster-89x128.jpg 89w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Poster.jpg 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA waitress (Regina Baff) tries her luck as a female wrestler, travelling across the United States with a group of diverse and determined women.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Feminism and Women&#8217;s Issues<\/li>\n<li>Road Trip<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<li>Underdogs<\/li>\n<li>Wrestling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nA year before Robert Aldrich&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5245\"><em>All the Marbles<\/em> (1981) (a.k.a. <em>The California Dolls<\/em>)<\/a> was released, writer-director Robert Fowler made this character study about a down-on-her-luck waitress hoping for a more empowered and exciting life through female wrestling. Fowler and Sherry Sonnet&#8217;s screenplay &#8212; based on an autobiographical novel by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rosalyn_Drexler\">Rosalyn Drexler<\/a> &#8212; contains plenty of authentic insights into the seamy world of low-rent wrestling, showing both the challenges and the bonds that occur along the way. (For the most part, the wrestlers are supportive rather than combative with one another, understanding that it&#8217;s primarily a show rather than a contest.) Given its parallels with the underdog film <em>Rocky<\/em> (1976), <em>Below the Belt<\/em> naturally ends with &#8220;The Big Fight&#8221;, which is actually quite gripping given that it stars real-life wrestler Jane O&#8217;Brien as &#8220;Terrible Tommy&#8221; (missing a front tooth, and menacing as all-get-out). Less engaging are Baff&#8217;s romantic foibles and a side-story about a middle-aged couple (Sierra Pecheur and Dolph Sweet) debating leaving the wrestling world for different pastures &#8212; but it all adds to the amiably paced flow of the film, which is more ethnographic than plot-driven. Watch for Shirley Stoler in a supporting role as one of Baff&#8217;s co-wrestlers. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler.png 758w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Stoler-479x270.png 479w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Regina Baff as Rosa<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"764\" height=\"429\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff.png 764w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Baff-481x270.png 481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Seemingly authentic &#8220;behind the scenes&#8221; footage of life for wrestlers<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"419\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic.png 760w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Ethnographic-490x270.png 490w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Good use of real-life wrestlers and matches<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting.png 760w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Below-the-Belt-Fighting-479x270.png 479w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A catchy and unusual soundtrack (&#8220;Some folks are so mean, they gargle gin and gasoline&#8221;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth seeking out for a one-time look. Listed as a Sleeper in the back of Peary&#8217;s book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0080427\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1983\/08\/31\/movies\/screen-below-the-belt-at-forum.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/69939\/below-the-belt\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/below-the-belt\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s stronger than she looks &#8212; I&#8217;m working on the image!&#8221; Synopsis: A waitress (Regina Baff) tries her luck as a female wrestler, travelling across the United States with a group of diverse and determined women. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Character Arc Feminism and Women&#8217;s Issues Road Trip Strong Females Underdogs Wrestling Review: A year before Robert Aldrich&#8217;s All the Marbles (1981) (a.k.a. The California Dolls) was released, writer-director Robert Fowler made this character study about a down-on-her-luck waitress&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39261\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39261"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68419,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39261\/revisions\/68419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}