Little Lucha and the Big Deal
It’s a long haul from the bottom of the bill of a Midwest dot on the map to anything which might resemble breaking into the big leagues let alone actual measurable success, but Little Lucha and Alexis “Big Deal” Steel have so little left to hang on to there’s really not that much more to lose, certainly not Little Lucha’s dignity, sacrificed in the ring earlier that evening while Alexis was unfairly denied her promised place on the bill.
With Little Lucha’s mask hiding his shock and shame as he was pounded into the canvas floor of the Milwaukee Legion Hall, Alexis has no such protection, her fading smile her only defence, big hair, red lip gloss and feather boa not enough to prop up the cracked dream that she might be accepted as a serious competitor when she is sidelined because no woman will face her and the local promoters refuse to encourage “inter-gender wrestling.”
A short film written and directed by Scarlet Moreno and Josh Stifter who also star as the dynamic duo in glittering spandex and big boots, Little Lucha and the Big Deal are struggling to get out of the rut and remain dedicated to the sport they love, expected to act as cheerleaders for their careers and inspire new talent when they can’t even get a break themselves, the early eighties apparently the end of the line for wrestling.
The temptation to give up on their dreams and each other, it would mean letting not only themselves down but also the dedicated fans of wrestling, but all the world can be a stage, even the parking lot of the run-down diner where overly perky waitress Caille (Meghan Carlson) performs her own dutiful routines with an unflinching smile as she takes a battering night after night, every player finding their place if they are willing to fight, even if it means challenging the reason they started out in the first place.
Little Lucha and the Big Deal premiered at the LA Shorts International Film Festival
