Movies you might have missed: GLOW, the documentary that inspired the Netflix show

The second season of GLOW has arrived on Netflix, a welcome return for the fast-paced comedy with heart and humanity at its core. The idea for the programme came to Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, who were very eager to make a female-led show when they came across the 2012 documentary GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

Amazingly, neither had any previous knowledge of the GLOW wrestling promotion, but they realised it could provide the perfect vehicle for an exploration of friendship, rivalry and the aftermath of the women’s movement of the 1970s.

GLOW ran for four seasons on American television between 1986 and 1990, and this documentary charts the rise and fall of an enterprise entirely without precedent. Directed by Matt Cimber (a filmmaker and the last husband of Jayne Mansfield), GLOW was the first women’s professional wrestling TV show. As in the fictionalised version, the wrestlers were, in the main, aspiring actors and models with no previous knowledge of the sport.

What comes across more than anything else in this engaging film is the sense of camaraderie between the women. While Cimber was clearly a difficult man to work with, the wrestlers involved felt a profound sense of kinship, however tough things got.

The open call auditions meant that many of those involved were looking for a route into showbusiness, whatever the cost. The production was a camp, neon affair involving big hair and bigger personalities. Inane raps and comedy sketches played between the matches, and there is a sense that the fundamental aim of the show was to exude a sense of fun.

That being said, the women still had to train with wrestling legend Mando Guerrero and his gruelling methods made it quite clear that the world of the ring is not all fun and games.

The series was unexpectedly cancelled and many of those involved felt bereft without so much as an opportunity to say goodbye to their friends and colleagues. At the documentary’s denouement, the stars of the promotion have a long-awaited reunion after a couple of decades without contact.

Some went on to fame and fortune while others suffered difficulties in their lives relating to ill health. They created a camp, engaging world that captivated millions, though, and the love they have for each other and that time in their lives cannot be underestimated. This is a riveting documentary that fans of GLOW with Marc Maron and Alison Brie would do well to watch on Netflix.