Against The Ropes, also known as Contra Las Cuerdas, is a Mexican comedy-drama directed by Caroline Rivera and written by Carmen Castro, Olfa Masmoudi, Cynthia Fernández Trejo and Andre Palavicini Blanco. Following the story of Angela, the series revolves around a mother’s fight to earn her daughter’s trust back and prove her innocence to the police.
The official Netflix description of the series reads,
RELEASED FROM PRISON, ÁNGELA TRIES TO REGAIN THE RESPECT OF HER DAUGHTER, WHO LOVES LUCHA LIBRE WRESTLING, BY ENTERING THE RING AS A MYSTERIOUS PERSONA.
The main cast of the series includes Michelle Rodríguez as Josefina, Alejandra Ley as Sweet Petunia, Scarlet Gruber as Dulce Caramelo, Caraly Sánchez as Angela, Carmen Ramos as Victoria, Alisson Santiago as Rocio, Giovanna Zacarías as Refugio, Cuauhtli Jiménez as Lalo, María Balam as Malena, Valentina Buzzurro as Lucia, and Marcela Alcarez as Betty. There are 10 episodes in total, each for around 40 minutes.
– Against The Ropes Review Contains No Spoilers –
The first episode starts with Angela being released from prison but warned not to get into trouble again. However, Angela, tired of letting them know she is innocent, smirks and comes out. She gets welcomed by her mother, Victoria, and they reach home. When Angela yearns to meet her daughter Rocio, she finds out that she is at the wrestling match with her biological father and her wrestler stepmother.
Angela’s primary goal is to convince everyone that she is innocent, so she starts hunting for the person behind her arrest. Meanwhile, she also decides to follow her late father’s wrestling legacy so that her daughter will like her too. Little does she know that every move she makes will only lead her to uncover hurtful truths.
The storyline might seem sad, but in reality, the series was hilarious and sentimental. Of course, it’s around a mother and a daughter, so emotional aspects will definitely be there. Nevertheless, the episodes captivated me with different characters’ storylines, humour, action, romance and the splendid soundtrack.
The intro palette was creatively done with animated images, making this series an excellent watch for kids. The wrestlers’ costumes could make young ones at home wish to be a wrestler one day. The matches we see in this series won’t be as hectic as WWF, but rather a couple of women pulling each other’s hair.
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It was realistic to see how Angela’s efforts always went to the dump. The teenager keeps misunderstanding her mother, which is happening almost in every household these days. No matter what Angela does, the people around her misjudge her as she is an ex-con. When she starts to dig into her past, a series of truths keeps hitting her.
One interesting aspect I found was the theme of friendships and jealousy being shown from different angles using three generations of women. That is, Angela and Malena, Victoria (Angela’s mother) and Refugio, Rocio (Angela’s daughter) and her best friend, Pato. These instances showed how people from three different generations make mistakes and cope with them.
Notably, the soundtrack is a winner. Every episode ends with different songs, adding to that particular episode’s revelation. The tiny bits of romance between the supporting characters also enhanced the comedy theme of the series. The cinematography, the locations, the ring set-ups for the matches, the makeup of the wrestlers—everything was perfect.
Against The Ropes: Is It Worth the Stream?
Against The Ropes is definitely a good watch, and it can be watched once or twice. The actors did a fantastic job, and the plot was well-written, as it wasn’t too dramatic. The colour grading of the series is a visual feast for the eye. Overall, the series is a family entertainer.
If you haven’t watched the series yet, check it out on Netflix and let us know your thoughts.
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