Avildsen is prone to luxuriating in his own Americana -- the midsection is somewhat baggy -- and you sometimes sense the writing tiptoeing around the wrestling scene’s less salubrious aspects. The stronger stretches, though, display ample pluck and moxie.

I took more from Avildsen’s commitment to his subject than I would from watching 10 big-budget celebrity biopics combined.

“Queen of the Ring” is more of a montage of the highlights of Burke’s illustrious life, rather than an entertaining film.

Rickards delivers a knockout performance as the trailblazing Mildred Burke. The disjointed storytelling and clunky dialogue kept this from being a great biopic, but Burke's story is inspiring and rousing nonetheless.