THE STORY – An extraordinary, true-life tale that follows Mildred Burke, the legendary professional wrestler and single mom who defied incredible odds to become the first million-dollar female athlete and longest reigning champion at a time when the sport was banned across most of America.
THE CAST – Emily Bett Rickards, Kelli Berglund, Walton Goggins & Josh Lucas
THE TEAM – Ash Avildsen (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 130 Minutes
Many will say that Mildred Burke was a pioneer, a female wrestler who got her start when the idea of female wrestling was illegal and became the face of the sport. Burke was before the times of the women entering the WWM or the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) in the 1980s. In fact, she is one of the main reasons why these organizations exist. With a legacy as groundbreaking as Burke’s, she most definitely deserves to have her own biopic to showcase her lasting impact on the sport, but “Queen of the Ring” leaves much to be desired.
Burke (Emily Brett Rickards) is a young single mother in the South who aspires for greatness. She is dead set on becoming a wrestler, even though there was no such career for female wrestlers in America in the 1930s. But that doesn’t stop her; she is just as charming as any Southern woman of her time, as she is strong-willed and passionate. So when she crosses paths with Billy Wolfe (Josh Lucas), she demands he give her a chance. Taken aback by her natural talent and strength, he goes with her across the south and participates in wrestling acts in local fairs and circuses, offering a fight to the highest bidder. As time goes on, Burke becomes more popular, and Billy, her now manager/trainer/lover, becomes more aggressive. Throughout the 130-minute runtime, audiences watch Burke rise and fall from fame and establish women’s place in wrestling.
Rickards is fiery as the titular Queen of the Ring. She is given the strenuous task of portraying Burke over several decades, from being a young single mother to an older wrestler fighting much younger opponents. It is never an easy feat for an actor, and Rickards transforms effortlessly throughout the film. One can see Burke age and grow as she encounters new obstacles. In addition, the choreography by Heath Hensly (stunt coordinator) and Jett Hansen (fight choreographer) is delightful, as they provide both entertainment for audiences as well as characterization during the film’s runtime. For example, the fights become more scrappy while Burke and Billy’s relationship becomes more toxic. Hensly and Hansen always keep the danger and showmanship of the fights, but also provide an undertone of violence that the characters are experiencing out of the ring.
Unfortunately, “Queen of the Ring” falls victim to the notion that a biopic must depict the entire subject’s life within the film. It never works, as it is simply impossible to tell an entire life story in under three hours. The result will be an unengaging piece that relies on characters merely moving to the next phase of life; there is little plot or motivation besides getting the characters to the next historical event. Ash Avildsen’s adaptation of Jeff Leen’s nonfiction book “The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend” offers little motive. This is especially tragic considering that Burke has an interesting story and a fate similar to Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” or Esther/Ally in “A Star is Born,” where, as the woman’s star rises, the male love interest’s star falls and turns toxic. However, Avildsen is not nearly as interested in Burke’s internal struggle or her relationships as he is in actual wrestling or showcasing the simple message of Girl Power.
Within a narrative film, the heart should always lie in the protagonist’s journey and their relationships with the peoplearound them. Sadly, this isn’t the case in “Queen of the Ring.” Most of the plot occurs in the film’s second half, but Avildsen does little to engage the audience with Burke’s desires besides becoming the best female wrestler in the world. A lot is happening in “Queen of the Ring” (especially via the strong performances from the actors and stunt performers), but due to packing an entire life story in one feature film (which was originally a 356-page nonfiction account), the character moments are simple and leave much more to be desired. Maybe, one day, Burke’s story will be retold where a general audience, not die-hard wrestling historians, will be entranced by her legacy (maybe in a long-form format like a limited series). Still, sadly, “Queen of the Ring” is not the knockout that Burke deserves.
