Documentary explores the unknown
world of womens wrestling in 1940s
BY C.G. WALLACE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In an age of Marilyn Monroe and
circle skirts, a group of women in
industrial-strength bathing suits
grappled, bodyslammed and
tough-talked their way into the
wrestling world.
With names such as The Fabulous
Moolah, The Great Mae Young, Ella
Waldek and Gladys "Killem" Gillem,
these were the real first ladies of
wrestling, who toiled in the 1940s
and '50s.
Those early years,are recounted
in the documentary "Lipstick & Dy
namite, Piss & Vinegar: The First
Ladies of Wrestling," which Atlanta
filmmaker Ruth Leitman sees as a
story of women's empowerment.
Leitman said she asked one of the
wrestlers if she was a feminist, and
the answer summed up the practical
outlook shared by her subjects. "I
wasn't out there burning my bra," the
woman replied. “I needed it to hold
me up."
For Waldek, wrestling was a way
for her to get off her family's Wash
ington farm and see the world. She
began wrestling in 1949 and retired
in 1979, in between logging thou
sands of miles in dusty gyms, small
town arenas and armories.
"As far as people accepting us,
we always were ladies first. Outside
the ring we were dressed to the
nines," said the 75-year-old Waldek,
who now lives in Pinellas Park, Fla.
"We knew we were first, but the
idea of being pioneers never
crossed our mind."
These women, still very much the
entertainers they were in their
youth, would like another day in the
spotlight and hope the film brings
them some recognition.
One of the challenges of the film
was finding footage of the matches.
There was little interest in docu
menting the fights.
David Meltzer, a San Jose, Calif.
based wrestling expert who publish
es the Wrestling Observer Newslet
ter, said he would have liked to have
seen such footage in the film, but
conceded it probably doesn't exist.
Talented cast, wise writing are a perfect
fit in ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'
BY CHRISTY LEMIRE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
No handsome prince comes gal
loping along to rescue the fourteen
heroines of "The Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants," though they all find
love in unexpected places. And none
of them lives out a sticky, gooey,
pop-star fantasy, though they all get
chances to shine.
"Sisterhood" is instead the rare
movie that depicts young women re
alistically: excited, confused, im
petuous and determined as they try
to figure out who they are. The peo
ple behind the film — and more im
portantly, author Ann Brashares,
who wrote the book on which it is
based — had the exceptional wis
dom to realize this is exactly the kind
of depiction audiences have been
sadly missing.
The talented, eclectic foursome of
actresses (Amber Tamblyn, Alexis
Bledel, America Ferrera and
newcomer Blake Lively) bring the
characters beautifully to life, and
they have a comfort together that
makes you believe they've truly been
friends forever.
The film isn't just for teen girls,
though. Women of any age can ap
preciate the steadfast support these
characters show for each other.
Lena (Bledel from "Gilmore
Girls"), the quiet, reserved artist, is
going to visit her grandparents for
the summer on the Greek island
of Santorini.
Angry Goth girl Tibby (Tamblyn,
who starred in the recently canceled
series "Joan of Arcadia") is stuck at
home in Bethesda, Md., clerking at a
behemoth discount store that's a
thinly veiled version of Wal-Mart.
Athletic, impulsive Bridget (Lively,
a blond stunner in her first major
film role) is off to Baja, Mexico, to at
tend soccer camp following her
mother's suicide.
And articulate, sarcastic Carmen
(Ferrera, the charismatic star of
"Real Women Have Curves") is
headed for South Carolina to visit the
father she rarely gets to see since
her parents'divorce.
The day before they're about to
split up, they walk into a vintage
clothing store, where they find a pair
of jeans that surprisingly fits all their
varied body types, from voluptuous
Carmen to leggy Bridget.
"All I know is it made every one of
our butts look good," says Carmen,
who's also the film's narrator.
They decide this pair of pants
must be magic, and promise to share
them overthe summer. Each girl gets
them for a week, and must pass
them along to the next person with a
letter detailing what she did while
she was wearing them.
All four story lines turn into un
abashed tearjerkers, but the film
avoids wrapping them up with easy
answers, which is as miraculous as
the power of the pants themselves.
mm
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Sunday Closed
‘Revenge of the Sith’
rules the box office after
Memorial Day weekend
BY DAVID GERMAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paybackforthe Sith has meant a
real payday at the box office.
"Star Wars: Episode III — Re
venge of the Sith" beat two strong
newcomers to remain the top
movie with $70.75 million over the
long Memorial Day weekend,
though Hollywood again failed
to climb out of a prolonged
revenue decline.
Debuting in second place was
the animated adventure "Mada
gascar" with $61 million, while
Adam Sandler's football remake,
"The Longest Yard," opened a
close third with $60 million,
according to studio estimates
Monday.
Despite the two big debuts and a
strong hold for "Revenge of the
Sith" in its second weekend, the
atrical receipts overall were down
forthe 14th straight weekend com
pared with last year.
The top 12 movies grossed
$225.5 million, an impressive four
day haul but still 5.5 percent behind
last year's record Memorial
Day weekend, when "Shrek 2" and
"The Day After Tomorrow"
alone combined for $181 million in
grosses.
"On the one hand, yeah, 14
weeks, that's a terrible slump,"
said Paul Dergarabedian,
president of box-office tracker Ex
hibitor Relations. "But I'm opti
mistic because this weekend
proves you can still get a heck of a
lot of people in theaters with the
right movies.
"It takes a lot more to excite
people today, and the crop of
movies this year other than 'Star
Wars' and the movies that opened
this weekend haven't inspired
audiences to make that step and
goto the theaters."
The final installment of George
Lucas' "Star Wars" saga grossed
$271.2 million domestically in its
first 12 days, putting it on pace to
soar beyond the $310 million total
of its predecessor, "Star Wars:
Episode II — Attack of the Clones."
"Revenge of the Sith" may be on
track to approach the $431 million
domestic haul of "Star Wars:
Episode I —The Phantom Men
ace," said Bruce Snyder, head
|of distribution for 20th Century
Fox, which released the "Star
Wars" films.
As with "Titanic," the modern
box-office champ that brought
young girls back to the theater to
see it again and again, "Revenge
of the Sith" is drawing strong re
peat business among young males.
"We've got a lot of kids who al
ready have seen this picture four
and five times," Snyder said.
Worldwide through Sunday,
"Revenge of the Sith" had taken in
$504.4 million since its almost si
multaneous debut in most coun
tries beginning May 18.
"Madagascar," featuring the
voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock,
Jada Pinkett Smith and David
Schwimmer as pampered zoo ani
mals cut loose in the wild, plugged
a hole among parents eager for a
movie to take the kids to see.
"There was a pent-up desire
forfamily pictures," said Jim
Tharp, head of distribution for
DreamWorks, which released
"Madagascar."
"The Longest Yard," an update
of the 1974 tale of prison inmates
taking on their sadistic guards in a
football grudge match, was a key
choice foryoung males, who make
up the bulk of Sandler's audience.
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