The Wrestler

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List

Today's review will be The Wrestler written by Robert D. Siegel. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring this year's oscar winner for best actor Mickey Rourke for his masterful performace as Randy "The Ram" Robinson.

Now if you recall after my Frost/Nixon review I proclaimed Frank Langella the winner for best actor well I can safely say that Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson smashes Langella's performance as Richard Nixon over the head with a chair. Please forgive the wrestling puns, they are too good to resist so I plan to use them in this review.

Before I begin to break down this amazing film I would like to give you all a little lesson pro wrestling 101 style if I may. I was a big time pro wrestling fan but as I got older the sideshow antics became too cheesy for me so I moved on to other forms of entertainment but what occasionally drew me back to wrestling from time to time was the "where are they now" thought. The constant wondering of what happened to my former heroes and this is where the lesson comes in.

If I was asked to describe professional wrestling in 1 word I would say it's cyclical. For the most part a wrestler will end his or her career the exact same way he or she started it. The sport of pro wrestling is not like football or baseball where top talent is drafted or traded for, it is discovered and how does a wrestler get discovered? The answer is by the grace of god.

A wrestler trying to make it to the big time will start in small and I mean very small promotions where they will perform in front of crowds of 100 people or less in places like bingo halls for next to nothing to sometimes no pay and as long as they can avoid major injury while performing at top level and maintain a strong and loyal fan base the promoter may drop your name to a bigger faction and thus begins their ascension to fame and fortune in the world of big bucks and body slams.

However, the flip side to this success story is that just like in pro sports an athlete's "life span" can be very short and for a wrestler that's the kiss of death because you are no good to the promoter or the promotion if you can't go out every night and beat the crap out of your opponent. So to maintain their edge the wrestler turns to you guessed it....Drugs, specifically steroids, HGH and painkillers which as we all know over time destroys their bodies on top of the punishment they receive after a 45 minute steel cage match.

So when a wrestler squanders away their fame and flames out in the big promotions (and trust me most of them do) and they can't latch on to any of the other middle level federations they end right back up at the bingo hall performing for people who are just as old as they are or worse....people who don't have a clue who they are. It really is a sad ending for someone who dedicated their lives and bodies for the entertainment of others and when they have outlived their use-fullness they are tossed out.

This is where the plot of The Wrestler comes in. Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson was a former mega star in the wrestling world. A world champion at the top of his game but when we see him now he's a broken down beaten man trying to stay on top in a world that has long since passed him by. He still remains the main event attraction when he wrestles but like all of the other has been's, it's in front of small crowds at the bingo hall's. In the locker room he is immensely revered and respected by the other wrestler's. Most of them were kids when The Ram was a superstar so to them working with a legend is an honor rather than a joke.

When he's not wrestling Randy works part time at a supermarket trying to make ends meet and for entertainment he frequents a local strip club when he is a loyal customer to a dancer named Cassidy played by the very talented, beautiful and severely underrated Marisa Tomei. The film takes a twist when after a grueling hardcore match, The Ram suffers a heart attack that required bypass surgery. Before being released the doctor advises Randy to stop taking the steroids and other drugs and that unless he's willing to risk another heart attack or dying that he has to hang up his tights.

The Ram reluctantly retires and tries to move on with his life. He gets steady work at the market and develops a comfort level with his new life until he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Initially she rejects the sight of him but his persistence breaks her hatred just enough that she agrees to go out with him. Over time The Ram begins to miss the ring and goes to a show to see the matches. Being there rekindles The Ram's love for the sport that made him so famous but at a cost. Going to the show made him miss his date with his daughter which was the last straw. She disowns him sending The Ram spiraling down with emotions of pain and guilt, to the point where he decides to return to the ring despite the potential consequences. I will not divulge the ending because it was done so perfectly that it deserves to be seen and not explained.

Now on to the "Main Event" (I warned you I would be using wrestling puns) There is a saying in the world of motion pictures that every once in a while an actor or actress was "born" to play a role, and it's more than likely that many will say that about Mickey Rourke and his portrayal of Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Well I couldn't DISAGREE more. To say that Rourke was born to play this role would be an insult to his acting ability and to his performance as a whole. I truly believe that nobody is born to play a role instead they become the "right" person for the role and in this case this was the right role for Mickey Rourke and he was the right choice, the timing was perfect for both him and the project. Rourke infuses so much life and pain behind The Ram's beaten soul that you continue to root for him even when he screws up which in my opinion makes a special performance.

A lot of credit has to go to Aronofsky for sticking to his guns and keeping Rourke attached to the project. The word on the street was that the studio who originally had the rights to The Wrestler felt that Rourke was not a big enough name to sell the film so they wanted to replace him with Nicolas Cage. Aronofsky "slammed" that idea and as a result the studio passed on the film until finally the good people at Fox Searchlight saw the writing on the wall and made the best decision a studio could make which was to trust the director and his vision. The end result was a no holds barred, in your face, gritty film that is worth all the acclaim it receives and will continue to receive, highlighted by an oscar winning performance from an actor who has more talent in his left nostril than most of the so called stars today have in their whole bodies.

This also re-enforces my point about Mickey Rourke's performance. I personally don't think that Nicolas Cage is that great an actor but there's no reason that suggests that he couldn't have done a great job in this film. Having said that however, after seeing Rourke put all of his heart and soul behind this character, there is no way anyone else
could have pulled this off. Rourke just gets it. You truly believe he is a pro wrestler not just an actor playing one. From actually wrestling in the ring against real wrestlers to assuming the identity of his alter ego. Throughout the film if people called the The Ram by his real name (which is Robin by the way) he corrects them and tells them to call him Randy. That is a major character trait in the wrestling world and to prove it I ask you this. Have you ever heard Hulk Hogan called by his real name Terry before? I rest my case.

The Wrestler is one of those rare films that comes along every year and sneaks in under the radar behind the major studios tentpole pictures and provides more heart, imagination and most importantly entertainment.

Overall my grade for The Wrestler is an A with a high recommendation. Mickey Rourke's performance deserves to be seen and should not be missed.

That's it for the "D" List for now. I plan to catch up on my cinema adventures very soon. With the Oscar nominations out, I plan to continue my yearly tradition of seeing every film that was nominated for Best Picture. As of now the count is 2 down Ben Button and Frost/Nixon and 3 to go. So be on the lookout for my reviews on The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire and Milk.

On a personal note I would like to thank all of you who have commented/praised my reviews of these films. I am glad that you all get as much pleasure in reading these as I do writing them. Also if you know anyone that might get a kick out of reading these please feel free to pass them along or ask them to send me their email address so I can add them to the list.

Until Next Episode....I'll save you a seat.

"D"