Rourke Makes The Wrestler
- Review By:
- PoseyDozer
- Date:
- July 19, 2009
- Movie:
- The Wrestler
- Director:
- Darren Aronofsky
- Released:
- 2008
- Good Guy:
- Randy 'The Ram' Robinson
- Played By:
- Mickey Rourke
- Bad Guy:
- Played By:
- MPAA Rating:
- R
- Family Friendly Ages:
- Not for kids
With Michael Jackson's death so lately in the news, it's hard to begin watching The Wrestler without thinking about plastic surgery gone awry. The Wrestler unintentionally plays on the public appetite for celebrity face lifts by opening with several long shots of Mickey Rourke's character from the back. When his face is finally exposed, you can't help but spend at least a few moments clucking over the alterations he's made. But maybe because of what he's done to himself, Rourke is the perfect actor to play Randy "The Ram" Robinson -- an aging professional wrestler who bleaches his long ugly hair, frequents tanning salons and pumps himself full of drugs to try to maintain the youthful appearance and bulked up physique required of his profession.
And Rourke is perfect. Randy has long passed his prime. He lives in a shabby house trailer and makes ends meet by working odd jobs for some sort of grocery store, wrestling in tacky, low-budget venues on the weekends, and selling tee-shirts and autographs at poorly attended fan shows. He's wrecked his relationship with his daughter. Although there's little to admire in such a life, Rourke's Randy is immensely sympathetic. When, toward the end of the film, Randy says that the world no longer cares for him, he speaks for every one of us. But the world is particularly hard on people like Randy who have not regularly contributed to their retirement funds or maintained close personal relationships with friends and family.
Randy does attempt to connect to an aging stripper named Pam. Marisa Tomei excels at portraying the boredom and desperation women who depend on their bodies for their livelihoods must feel after years in the business. (But she's far too beautiful to convince anyone that her customers find her too old for lap dances or tips.) The film is even more convincing in its portrayal of Randy's life when the relationship fizzles.
For professional wrestling fans, the film also includes plenty of jarring scenes in the ring, some too painful to watch. Thanks to Rourke, The Wrestler is an unforgetable and depressing film that engenders kindness and understanding toward people who have not chosen wisely in life.
I loved this movie. It was thoroughly depressing... and I wasn't able to keep my eyes open for all the staplegun/chair-bashing/head-banging stuff... and I usually can't stand Mickey Rourke! But all that aside - the perfect portrayal of a life gone nowhere and no redemption in sight.