Below the Belt

Gritty, great crowd shots, remarkable music, authentic characters. This is what the middle of the night is for: finds like this movie. Birmin'AlabamaHam just one of the musical treats. Hard to watch some scenes, but this view of America "behind the scenes" is unusual and loaded with great color, genuine dialogue and wonderful road trip post card view of America that's not mainstream or middle class, but working and driving and the same kind of self-reflection you might find in a movie like Metropolitan only on the road in a half- empty stadium in Talahassee. Different authors quoted, different food eaten, different "coifs", the furniture the back seat of a 64 station wagon instead of a penthouse, but every bit as rich and full. I am wowed.

Rosa Rubinsky (Regina Baff (The Paper Chase)) is an NYC waitress at a concession stand who is able to manhandle a co-worker when his advances get too aggressive. Taking notice of this is wrestling promoter Bobby Fox (John C. Becher (Next Stop, Greenwich Village)), who's eager to give her a new life as a new member of his troupe. Eventually, she will have the potential to hit the big time with a match against "Terrible" Tommy (real-life wrestler Jane O'Brien, in her only film appearance).

Below the Belt may come as something of a disappointment to people who want a lot of in-the-ring action. This film does deliver some, but it's really more of a character-oriented drama that focuses on the lady wrestlers & their camaraderie. Delivering standout performances are Sierra Pecheur (Kalifornia), as ageing grappler Verne, and Dolph Sweet (Gimme a Break!) as a fellow veteran who loves her - and who feels much too over the hill by this point.

In fact, the performances are quite appealing, with Ms. Baff doing a solid job in the lead. Another real-life wrestling legend, Mildred Burke, appears as herself, offering some initial training to Rosa (who ultimately gets re-christened as Rosa Carlo, the "Mexican Spitfire"). Rosa is certainly easy to root for, especially since she has a bad habit of picking useless guys - a radio DJ (Frazer Smith (Tag: The Assassination Game)) who won't support her, and a male wrestler (James Gammon (Major League)) who loves her and leaves her.

The film achieves a respectable level of realism, portraying the lives of these men & women in a less than glamorous fashion, and also has a engaging low-key approach.

Filmed mostly in 1974, but not released until 1980, this features other familiar faces such as Shirley Stoler (The Honeymoon Killers), Gregory Rozakis (Death Wish), Ric Mancini (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), and K. C. Townsend (The Burning).

Seven out of 10.

Interesting film of a depressing topic. A troupe of wrestlers, mostly unattractive women, travel from small town to small town earning peanuts. This is not the major leagues as seen on TV today. In some regards, the film is realistic, but not when they feature matches presented as legit (wrestling slang for real). Therefore, if they are going to backslide on reality, how about casting the lead as a sexy lady wrestler. Wouldn't improve the movie any, but would make me be more inclined to watch this film again. The film "Unholy Rollers" is a comparable film (not as depressing) and did feature a sexy leading lady. I am unsure as to the extent of the popularity of wrestling when this film was released in 1980. This film was not popular at all and is rarely seen, then and now. I gave it a 4 (on a 10 scale).

Not ordinarily the kind of film I would like or praise -- as other reviewers have said, it's rather depressing -- I actually liked "Below the Belt" very much, primarily because of the superb performance by the beautiful Regina Baff.

I really can't understand why she hasn't starred in more movies. She has looks, including a fascinating and unusual face that is sensitive and looks vulnerable, a great figure, and gorgeous legs.

Plus, she was athletic enough in this movie to handle the strenuous wrestling scenes.

All the players were so realistic, the film seemed almost a documentary some of the time.

Having known some similar wrestlers in my time, working as a TV station camera operator, I could accept this as a realistic slice-of-life film about some slice-of-life people. They deserved our sympathy, in part because they were so human, in part because they had not tried hard enough to avoid being in a rut, defined a long time ago as "a grave with the ends removed."

All the actors were professionals, very believable; the directing was generally very good, and the cinematography was great.

I wish there were more chances to see Regina Baff. What a superlative woman, and what a wonderful actor.

Nice film, I liked it well enough to buy a copy to add to my collection. I enjoyed the realism the film conveyed. Some of my favorite performances were by Shirley Stoler, K.C.Townsend,Titi Paris, Regina Baff and Dolph Sweet. I found the music score very exiting and it seemed to compliment the film. Sierra Pecheur was interesting,as well as Annie McGreevey. Actress Billie Mahoney was interesting as was Jane O'Brien.I would like to comment a little about Mildred Burke. She was a pioneer in the sport of wrestling, and a world champion in her time. All in all an enjoyable film well worth seeing again. It is interesting to note actress Titi Paris is a professional wrestler and judo black belt. She is also responsible for getting Ladies Wrestling legalized in New York State.