SIGNATURE MOVE

Can two culturally diverse women, one Pakistani and one Mexican, find true love in Chicago through the world of female wrestling? Of course they can. This is America. Zaynab is a somewhat closeted immigration lawyer whose mother is obsessed with two things: television and finding Zaynab a husband. Alma is an independent and out-of-the-closet bookstore owner. Her mother was once a pro wrestling star. Zaynab is taking wrestling lessons for “existential reasons” and she is bad at it. They are an unlikely match, so naturally they fall stormily in love. Let the cage match begin. To woo the increasingly resistant Alma, Zaynab may have to risk entering the ring and revealing herself to her ultra-conservative mother. SIGNATURE MOVE asks the eternal question: is love, in this wonderful circus of a world, a ten-round body-slamming spectacle of bruised feelings and unwanted audience participation with no guarantees or referees? This charming film proves that in its sweet and bizarre way, yes, love is exactly that. —C.R.