Wanda Sykes makes her drama debut playing a retired boxer in new sports film Undercard, in which she displays lots of muscle tees and furrowed brow looks. Consider me feral.
When I asked Autostraddle editors Kayla and Riese if they had seen “pics of muscle butch Wanda Sykes from her new movie,” both told me no. Their ignorance of this information made one thing clear: This movie has not marketed itself enough to lesbians.
Once I sent a few select stills from the film to Kayla and Riese, I received the anticipated response of “This is very good. This is great stuff.”
The stuff:
Co-written and directed by queer filmmaker Tamika Miller, the film follows Cheryl “No Mercy” Stewart as she attempts to reconnect with her son by becoming his boxing trainer.
In addition to this being Sykes’ first dramatic role, it’s also her first time playing a gay live action character in a film. In an interview with Them, Sykes recalls her first time reading the script: “I was like, ‘Wow, there’s not one joke in here. What the hell? Why is she…? I love it, but there’s not one joke in here. What are we doing?’”
She cracks a joke about Queen Latifah not being available, seemingly underestimating her ability to take on the role.
In that same interview, Miller says it was Sykes’ role all along. “Yes, there are a lot of great actresses who can play this role who’ve done drama before, but there was something really intriguing about Wanda, who I had already admired as a comedian, as an actress, as a writer,” she tells Them. I love it when filmmakers take a risk on comedians, especially ones like Sykes, who I’ve been watching on-screen my entire life (literally, her big break in comedy was the year after I was born).
Once I became aware of this film — the biceps of it all — I needed to know more. Specifically, I needed to know why I hadn’t heard of it until its release date. It’s no secret the film industry fails to give Black films the platform they often deserve. And that’s especially true for Black, queer films. I’ve since read a few varying reviews; many praise Sykes’ performance but critique the script itself.
Given the disappointment Sydney Sweeney brought to queer boxing fans and film lovers alike last year with Christy, I’d imagine folks would be eager to see an actual queer performer take on such a role. But so far, not a ton of noise. Why hasn’t my algorithm served me Wanda Sykes flirting with a tattoo artist?
Either way, I’m excited to see this film myself and to eventually read an Autostraddle review from someone much more qualified than me, and (hopefully) welcome the beloved Wanda Sykes to the Autostraddle Encyclopedia of Lesbian Cinema.
Here’s the trailer!
Comments
I so wish I could see this but it’s not at a theatre nearby :((