The Wrestler, 2008

The Wrestler (2008)
Genre:  Drama
Rating (out of 5 hearts): ♥♥♥♥♥

The Wrestler, 2008

This movie is a humbling experience.

I’ve always fancied professional wrestlers (even the veteran ones) as steroid-pumped, testosterone-driven men with big egos, big mansions with big gyms, and countless women to fill their big beds.   Mickey’s character, Randy “The Ram,” is the total opposite of that stereotype.  In his twilight wrestling years, he lives in a trailer park, and has his heart set on just one woman, a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei’s character).  I never figured wrestlers to be gentle souls that compliment each other’s skills while sitting underneath the bright fluorescent lights of the locker room, waiting for their next contrived match in that stinky, padded ring.  I was jarred by the stark reality that is professional wrestling: cheap flyers, dank toilets, fans so desperate for a hit that they would offer up their own prosthetic leg to be part of the act, and the countless props that often times, are not props at all (remember the razor blade and the staple gun?).   These wrestlers literally bleed to entertain.

A bloody Rourke in 'The Wrestler'

No other actor could have played this role better.  In so many ways, Mickey and Randy are the same: they’re both broken has-beens struggling to get back into the main arena for a last quick dance in the spotlight.  No wonder Mickey (with his scarred mug) disappeared into the role of Randy.  A pleasant surprise is Marisa Tomei prancing around without clothes in 80% of her camera shots (rightfully so!).   It’s about time her beautiful body was given some attention.   She is stunning.

A pensive Rourke

In the end, the question was: would you rather stay alive and fade away quietly, or would you rather go out with a big bang?

Mickey should have won an Oscar for this one.

Oh, and the top one-liner for this movie: “Two words: Re.  Match.”