I Could Care Less- So I recently sat down and watched a film called "The Wrestler." The idea seems simple enough, a professional wrestler past his prime living day to day, trying to make ends meet, and reconnect with a daughter that he was never there for. For any of you out there that are actually wrestling fans I'm sure you've seen or at least heard of a documentary called "Beyond the Mat" which takes an in depth view behind the scenes of professional wrestling. In BtM is a particular story about Jake the snake Roberts. A man who fell from the lime light and was making his living traveling the country doing small show after small show. He had an awkward relationship with both his daughter and his father and to top it all off was sporting a drug addiction. The movie The Wrestler plays very close to this story.
The film stars Mickey Rourke portraying Randy 'the ram' Robinson. He is an old, worn down professional wrestler that is beyond his better years as far as the industry goes. He lives in a trailer park where he struggles to make ends meet and earns his living doing a day job at a super market unloading trucks. Randy's love, his passion is in wrestling. Wrestling is what he does, and who he is. His primary contact and tenative friend is a stripper at a local club that is, much like Randy, "past their prime." The story follows Randy traveling and shows some of the workings that go on behind the scenes in pro-wrestling but things really get interesting when Randy suffers a stroke after one of his matches. At the hospital his doctor tells him he can no longer wrestle which comes as a huge blow because Randy was preparing to wrestle his old enemy from his most famous match. To add to his now complicated situation when he tries to let his daughter know that he had a heart attack things don't turn out like he planned. Randy decides to retire from wrestling and try and get his life in order. He spends the day with his daughter and tries to repair all the damage done over the years he was gone. But after one night out he finds himself making the same mistakes and right back where he was. He decides to follow through with his plans to wrestle and face his arch enemy once again.
There are a number of things I liked about the movie. The first is Mickey Rourke's acting. He is Randy, it's amazing to watch him in this role because you feel like your watching a movie about a wrestler you grew up watching. I felt connected with his character right from the start, even without a lengthy back story. The other thing I think is key to this film is the relationships between the characters. The energy and interaction, their responses to one another. So much of this film revolves around being connected/being wanted. Everyone in the movie nailed their characters, when you see them talking and responding to one another you can feel the history that they have. It's also amazing watching how they learn and respond from one another. Which leads to a very interesting ending in the film.
Overall I was very pleased with the film, both with the acting and the way it was shot. And it is easily something that I will purchase when it comes out. Any fan of pro-wrestling documentaries will love this, but even more if you like dramas that revolve around relationships, and characters feeling of security is invaded by reality you will be extremely entertained.
Gospel says:
I had been looking forward to seeing The Wrestler ever since I heard it existed. My 13 years of wrestling fandom (which ended a few years ago) primed me to jump on any movie that provides a fictional yet realistic story about a pro-wrestler, and here it was. I didn't care who was in it. The facts that it wasn't a pro-wrestling documentary and was directed by the man who gave me Requiem for a Dream were more than enough to put me in the seat.
People go on and on about Mickey Rourke's performance as "The Ram", and I can't say much against that. I focused more on the writing. The character is written simply as a man who is looking for his place in the world after he has realized he is past his prime in the world he once knew. There's something about such a realization that touches us all. Each and every one of us fears becoming obsolete, losing our family, and losing the worlds we have each made for ourselves. What adds to Rourke's performance, I must say, is that he's a big guy. There's something especially endearing about seeing a huge, intimidating guy cry and reveal that he too is vulnerable.
What makes The Wrestler so great is that it's a movie that takes the sport/performance of pro-wrestling seriously. The behind the scenes look at wrestling is, to the best of my knowledge, very realistic - as is the over-the-top aspect of indie federations trying to get attention. A staple gun? Not made up for the movie. These are the kinds of things that go into the act, and I feel like the physical sacrifices and seriousness of the choreography are something that are necessary to understand in order to respect the activities in the ring.
It's interesting. Wrestling fans think that this movie might bring a larger audience to pro-wrestling. In fact, Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWE, has recently made it so that his federation is rated PG on TV. It's entertainment for the whole family now! Even Freddie Prinze, Jr.-Gellar writes for the company. On top of that, they're running an angle in which Chris Jericho may be challenging Mickey Rourke to a match at Wrestlemania. It may just be me, but I don't see the cross-promotion working out so well.
For all that's great about the film, I kind of realize that making the film specifically about a wrestler was unnecessary. He pretty much could have been anything. He could have been a washed-up rock star, weather man, movie producer, or even actor. All you need is a role in which a person has a public persona that is more a character than the person is in his personal life. That could be anything in which he can sell himself under a nickname. I appreciate this movie's being about a professional wrestler, but it very well could have been Infomercial Man.
One dynamic I really appreciated in the film, though, was that of an old wrestler falling in love with an old stripper. It wasn't until I saw this movie that I was able to note the similarities between activities. Both involve a choreagraphed physical performance on the stage in front of crowds consisting mostly of hooting and hollering men who will cease to care about your existence once you hit a certain age. Oh, and more than likely you'll want to go under a pseudonym in either role. It's sad but endearing that Rourke's character was able to fall for someone so similar to him, despite the trappings of falling for someone who is paid to acknowledge that you exist.
On a related note, Marisa Tomei was quite exceptional in her role as said stripper. What bothers me is that Hollywood casting has made the role unbelievable. She plays a washed-up stripper whom patrons grow to actively reject and call old. She is absolutely gorgeous! I don't get how this was supposed to be taken seriously. I can understand Rourke's being called old and ugly, but Tomei? Are you kidding me?
The Wrestler turned out to be everything I wanted it to be. It was a heartfelt story with a somewhat loving depiction of the art of professional wrestling. It's about a man who loses his place in the world and fails to properly integrate back into society at large and into the life of his own daughter. His choice to enter the ring one more time makes sense. The film's ending, featuring an epic leap, was the most appropriate shot on which to stop the story. What happens after does not matter. Right there and then he knew exactly where he belonged, and we the viewers knew exactly the same.
I had been looking forward to seeing The Wrestler ever since I heard it existed. My 13 years of wrestling fandom (which ended a few years ago) primed me to jump on any movie that provides a fictional yet realistic story about a pro-wrestler, and here it was. I didn't care who was in it. The facts that it wasn't a pro-wrestling documentary and was directed by the man who gave me Requiem for a Dream were more than enough to put me in the seat.
People go on and on about Mickey Rourke's performance as "The Ram", and I can't say much against that. I focused more on the writing. The character is written simply as a man who is looking for his place in the world after he has realized he is past his prime in the world he once knew. There's something about such a realization that touches us all. Each and every one of us fears becoming obsolete, losing our family, and losing the worlds we have each made for ourselves. What adds to Rourke's performance, I must say, is that he's a big guy. There's something especially endearing about seeing a huge, intimidating guy cry and reveal that he too is vulnerable.
What makes The Wrestler so great is that it's a movie that takes the sport/performance of pro-wrestling seriously. The behind the scenes look at wrestling is, to the best of my knowledge, very realistic - as is the over-the-top aspect of indie federations trying to get attention. A staple gun? Not made up for the movie. These are the kinds of things that go into the act, and I feel like the physical sacrifices and seriousness of the choreography are something that are necessary to understand in order to respect the activities in the ring.
It's interesting. Wrestling fans think that this movie might bring a larger audience to pro-wrestling. In fact, Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWE, has recently made it so that his federation is rated PG on TV. It's entertainment for the whole family now! Even Freddie Prinze, Jr.-Gellar writes for the company. On top of that, they're running an angle in which Chris Jericho may be challenging Mickey Rourke to a match at Wrestlemania. It may just be me, but I don't see the cross-promotion working out so well.
For all that's great about the film, I kind of realize that making the film specifically about a wrestler was unnecessary. He pretty much could have been anything. He could have been a washed-up rock star, weather man, movie producer, or even actor. All you need is a role in which a person has a public persona that is more a character than the person is in his personal life. That could be anything in which he can sell himself under a nickname. I appreciate this movie's being about a professional wrestler, but it very well could have been Infomercial Man.
One dynamic I really appreciated in the film, though, was that of an old wrestler falling in love with an old stripper. It wasn't until I saw this movie that I was able to note the similarities between activities. Both involve a choreagraphed physical performance on the stage in front of crowds consisting mostly of hooting and hollering men who will cease to care about your existence once you hit a certain age. Oh, and more than likely you'll want to go under a pseudonym in either role. It's sad but endearing that Rourke's character was able to fall for someone so similar to him, despite the trappings of falling for someone who is paid to acknowledge that you exist.
On a related note, Marisa Tomei was quite exceptional in her role as said stripper. What bothers me is that Hollywood casting has made the role unbelievable. She plays a washed-up stripper whom patrons grow to actively reject and call old. She is absolutely gorgeous! I don't get how this was supposed to be taken seriously. I can understand Rourke's being called old and ugly, but Tomei? Are you kidding me?
The Wrestler turned out to be everything I wanted it to be. It was a heartfelt story with a somewhat loving depiction of the art of professional wrestling. It's about a man who loses his place in the world and fails to properly integrate back into society at large and into the life of his own daughter. His choice to enter the ring one more time makes sense. The film's ending, featuring an epic leap, was the most appropriate shot on which to stop the story. What happens after does not matter. Right there and then he knew exactly where he belonged, and we the viewers knew exactly the same.
