Wrestling Queens AKA Queens of the Ring AKA Les Reines du Ring is a seriously kooky French comedy about a woman who goes to quite the extreme in order to get the attention of her young son. Her past status as a bit of a crap mum contributes in part to her decision, and the fact that the aforementioned son has been placed in foster care sounds a bit grim, but it’s a warm little number that comes highly recommended.
Wrestling Queens AKA Queens of the Ring AKA Les Reines du Ring is a seriously kooky French comedy about a woman who goes to quite the extreme in order to get the attention of her young son. Her past status as a bit of a crap mum contributes in part to her decision, and the fact that the aforementioned son has been placed in foster care sounds a bit grim, but it’s a warm little number that comes highly recommended.
It’s the tale of 30-year-old Rose, who longs to be reunited with – and accepted by - Mickaël, her estranged 11-year-old son. Her boy isn’t that enamoured of his foster family and blames his mother for their long separation, but he seeks solace in watching wrestling and this is where mum sees her ‘in’. When she discovers that Mickaël is crazy about the internationally popular sport, Rose thinks she's found a way to melt the ice: she'll put together a tag team with some girlfriends and boom! He’ll come running back into her arms… or that’s the plan, anyway.
I’ve loved professional wrestling for a lot of my life, and as far back as I can remember I’ve watched it on TV and when my dad was still alive. I put it up there with boxing and MMA as one of my not-so-guilty pleasures, so when I first heard the premise of Wrestling Queens I was already a little into it from the get-go. I fell for it further the more that I watched, and it turned out to be a very fun and uplifting little French film that I was very glad I had the opportunity to see.
One of the main reasons that I enjoyed it is due to the fact that it is legitimately bloody funny at times, but not in the crass, over the top way that so many English speaking comedies are these days. It also doesn’t mock the women in the film as such - we are most definitely laughing (or is that chuckling?) along with them, as opposed to directly at them.
I also really liked the premise, it was a little offbeat and the team of writers and producers behind it clearly have a great deal of knowledge, respect, and love for the word of professional wrestling. They understand what it takes to work your way up the ranks in the industry, and like Mickey Rourke’s amazing turn in ‘The Wrestler’ from some years ago it takes you behind the curtain (ropes?) to see how people go about training to become a pro wrestler, and some of the many challenges that they face as they try to make a name for themselves in the fickle, diva-filled business. Of course it takes years and years for most wrestlers to build a fan base and become a big name in the world of the ring, but that can’t be explained easily in a sub two hour, light-hearted movie and neither should it have to be. It was interesting to read on Variety.com that after partnering with Warner Bros. on the French production, WWE Studios has acquired U.S. distribution and worldwide remake rights to the comedy. Here’s hoping they don’t remove its subtlety and charm.
Anyway… unlike the highly stressful-to-watch flick ‘In Their Skin’ that I blogged about last week, this cheerful little number is one of those films where the joy just washes over you. No matter what kind of day you’ve had I recommend ‘Wrestling Queens’ for a little distraction – you won’t be sorry.
Screening Times:
25/02/2015 08:30pm
02/03/2015 09:20am
13/03/2015 03:30pm
14/03/2015 07:25am
23/03/2015 05:25pm
24/03/2015 07:45am