Who’da thunk it? A movie about professional wrestling with a strong presence during awards season. More importantly, a movie about professional wrestling that doesn’t suck. Need I remind you of Body Slam or No Holds Barred? The pseudo-sport has always been treated as a joke by the mainstream, but I hope The Wrestler will make people think slightly differently about it.
Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a huge star during the wrestling boom period of the 1980’s. His match against long-time rival The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) was the main event at the world famous Madison Square Garden. The film’s opening credits (set to “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” by Quiet Riot) feature playbills, posters, and articles from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other wrestling magazines I used to read in the supermarkets, all of which are adorned with the Ram’s visage. The credits fade and we cut to today as an old, beat-up Randy Robinson sits alone in an elementary school classroom after his latest match. This star has faded.
Nowadays, the Ram ekes out a living on the independent circuit, wrestling in high school gyms and VFW halls. In real life, he’s Robin Randinsky and works a lousy part-time job at a grocery store where he takes crap from his condescending boss. After the show, Ram drives back to his trailer park (while “Don’t Know What You Got ‘Till It’s Gone” by Cinderella plays on the radio) only to find himself locked out of his trailer for falling behind on rent. He has to wear glasses to read and a hearing aid in one of his ears. His daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), wants nothing to do with him. But, in the ring, he’s still the Ram. In the ring, he’s treated as a god by a small, but adoring fanbase. In the ring, he’s treated as a hero by the young up-and-comers of the indie scene who shake his hand and call him ‘sir’ and say, “It’s an honor.”
However, outside the ring, his only friend is a stripped named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). Although, her real name is Pam and she’s a single mom. Just like Randy, she plays a character on stage and uses her body to pay the bills. Age plays a big factor in both their lives as neither can continue on as Father Time rears his ugly head. Randy is perpetually stuck in the 80’s, listening to hair metal while still playing his 8-bit Nintendo. In one of the film’s best scenes, he and Cassidy lament the death of the glam bands following the rise of Kurt Cobain and grunge (”The 90’s fucking sucked.”). When the Ram suffers a heart attack after a particularly brutal match, he’s forced to put his life in perspective including getting back in touch with his estranged daughter.
Following the failure of his big-budget epic, The Fountain, director Darren Aronofsky triumphantly returns with this small, more personal film. The Wrestler shares similar themes with Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream in that both pictures deal with addiction and the crushing realities of life. However, the former is far less depressing and just a little less fatalistic. Aronofsky also jettisons the glossy camera and editing techniques for a much more documentary approach. This is thanks in no small part to cinematographer Maryse Alberti who has shot documentaries such as Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. The camera is dropped right into the ring during the Ram’s wrestling matches as we hear every body blow and called spot. In the locker room, we feel like a fly on the wall as the wrestlers plan out the moves for their matches. The camera lingers behind Randy the Ram backstage just before he enters the arena then follows him through the curtains. We also follow him through his regular routines. He visits the salon to keep his hair blonde and flowing. He lies in a tanning bed and buys steroids & growth hormone from a fellow wrestler who is a walking pharmacy. This is a film that oozes authenticity.
As I write this review, Mickey Rourke has just won a Golden Globe for his performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson. He will surely be a strong contender for an Oscar. David Ansen of Newsweek called this the “Resurrection of Mickey Rourke.” I thought he’d been back for a while. Take a look at Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Domino or even Spun. Nonetheless, this is the role that cements his comeback. It’s not a stretch for Rourke who also saw his star power drop significantly following some poor business and personal decisions. Randy the Ram is as much an extension of Rourke’s persona as Gran Torino’s Walt Kowalski was of Clint Eastwood’s. Rourke’s weathered, beat-up face says all you need to know about the character. That face and leathery skin certainly evokes images of past wrestling superstars like Ric Flair or Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. There’s a lot of hurt hidden beneath the tough exterior. He gets staple gunned and thrown through plate glass during one bout, but it’s only in the real world where he admittedly feels any real pain.
Rourke isn’t a sad sack though; he’s a lovable lug with plenty of charm. After being moved from the stock room to the deli counter, Randy eases into the role and treats it just like any other show with the customers as his audience. He tosses containers of potato salad like a football. When one customer asks for two big breasts of fried chicken, the Ram replies, ”That’s what I want. Something with two big breasts and a brain.” Rourke also performed the majority of his own stunts. He’s in his early fifties but he’s on screen busting out flying headscissors and leaping off the top rope for his signature finisher, the Ram Jam. He even blades himself, slashing a razor blade across his forehead to give the fans blood. And what can I say about Marisa Tomei? She gets better and better, acting-wise and looks-wise.
The Wrestler isn’t a perfect film. The script is excellently written by Robert D. Siegel, a former editor-in-chief at The Onion, even if it borrows a bit from the Rocky formula. The scenes between Randy and his daughter are heavy handed and the dialogue isn’t all that original. Lots of ‘You were never there for me’ which we’ve heard plenty of times. However, The Wrestler is still packed with an extraordinary amount of raw emotionality. There’s triumph and tragedy, laughs and tears, and images which will remain in your mind long after the film ended.
Rating: ****
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