MovieChat Forums > ...All the Marbles (1981) Discussion > Favorite Match

Favorite Match

posted 18 years ago by badbart1776
7 replies | jump to latest

The film did a great job of giving us generous amounts of ring action but tying everything together with the trio's travels from one blue collar town to the next. The backstory is well done and those few scenes here and there give you a real sense of the three main characters, but the film really came alive when the Dolls stepped into the ring. My favorite match was the Chicago one (second match against the Tigers) -- it really establishes the Dolls as the underdogs against the tougher Tigers, and kicks off the story's arc to the championship in Reno. Vicki Frederick also was great in the Chicago match scenes, tough enough to absorb all that punishment (including some illegal double-teaming) but still vulnerable enough to cry when she loses.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] eatmepapi 17 years ago

Do you find the racial dynamic kinda strange? You know, the under-handed Mexican team at the beginning of the film, the wild 'n crazy Japanese girls, the sassy and ghetto-ish black team? All the fights were entertaining and well-choreographed, but I think my favorite was the one in Chicago as well (the red, white and blue ring, right?). It's their first big-time fight and even though they lose, it shows that they gotta lot of heart. There's a rawness to the fight with the Japanese ladies that's very old-school which puts it in a close second for me. But you're right, it's too short and over-edited in my opinion.

[–] Cooke_Fann 16 years ago

Shoot ! The Toledo tigers with Tracy Reed ! Hell Yea!

[–] dabbleuk 15 years ago

Isn't that a comment on the world of wrestling, though, rather than the fault of the film. Wrestling in general, and female tag-team in particular, feeds off stereo-types.
Taking that on a little, I think it is interesting that most of us seem to prefer it when the Dolls lose to the one where they win `All the Marbles'.

My favorite match is definitely the one in Chicago against the Toledo Tigers, the one they lose. The Tigers are great as the rule-bending champions, Tracy Reed (Diane) in particular. The way she and June team up to work over Iris in their corner to win the fight is very, how shall we say, alluring ;-)

It would be unfair to compare the final match unfavourably with the Japanese match because of the work involved in choreographing 25 minutes of action against four or five, but I do like the Japanese match as well - and again it's probably because the rival team are combining to work over one of the Dolls (Iris again, she does seem to get the worst of it in the movie).

The wrestling scenes in the entire film are superb.

[–] thetheeyecreature 14 years ago

I think the second match with the Tigers was also my favorite.

I just watched the movie; trying to understand the world in which it takes place. It seems that within the story, the matches are real -- both sides seriously trying to win, with no predetermined outcome. Yet everything they do physically is the clearly choreographed moves of theatrical wrestling in the real world, requiring the cooperation of both parties.

So it only makes sense if you posit a universe in which: 1) people really fight in those odd ways; 2) even though the fights are for real, the rules are never enforced.

Really enjoyable movie. Personally, I'm just sorry we didn't get to see Big Mama in the ring.

"The truth 24 times a second."

[–] bryguy615 8 years ago

Well, its like the 1st & 3rd Karate kid movies where you have a set guideline of rules, but the heels still try to break them, while making it look like they are not, or that it was an accident.

As for favorite match, clearly its the mud-match. Men have matches with tabbles, ladders, chairs, etc, but only women can do a mud-match, or a jello match. Just wish the movie had nudity.

[–] SteveRes (474) 5 months ago

The final match is epic, I love them entering the arena to Oh, You Beautiful Doll.