(Long Island, NY) It’s funny- growing up and into my early adulthood, I loved professional wrestling. I can’t say why I enjoyed watching grown men in spandex play-fighting, but eventually I grew out of it. But to this day, I’ll find myself occasionally flipping through the channels only to come across a WWE broadcast, and to my surprise I’ll find myself
actually watching for a few minutes, if only to relive old memories.
Eventually, however, I’ll remember that I’m a mature, cultured adult and go in search of more sophisticated television fare, like reruns of Married With Children or The Man Show. Needless to say, there’s a certain stigma of low-brow cheese associated with pro wrestling, and the last thing I ever expected was someone making a legitimate film drama featuring this sport (or “sports entertainment,” as it’s known today). But lo and behold, I give you The Wrestler, brought to us courtesy of director Darren Aronofsky and troubled actor Mickey Rourke.
I’m not kidding when I say a serious movie about the pro wrestling biz seems (to me) as out of left field as, say, a movie about a stack of steaming hot buttery pancakes being elected President of Honduras. But it surprisingly works, and an important reason why is because there are a lot of real, poignant tales originating from behind the scenes in wrestling. Despite the reputation of the matches being “fake,” the fact remains that these performers are indeed athletes who actually take a lot of legit punishment in the ring, live on the road traveling from gig to gig, make lousy money, work through injuries, and are denied basic things like health insurance and pensions. And all for the honor of maybe one day making it to the big leagues and getting wacked over the head with a steel chair on live TV. But most of these hopefuls never make it that far and end up working the various independent leagues in front of small crowds for peanuts. These are the men who are truly passionate about their chosen profession, and it is here that the tale of The Wrestler begins.
Enter Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke). Basically the Hulk Hogan of his era (that era being the 1980’s), Randy has fallen on hard times. His heyday long past, his earnings carelessly spent, he now ekes out a dreary existence stacking boxes at a supermarket and wrestling at the aforementioned independent wrestling matches on weekends for extra dough (and a chance to relive his past). He’s obviously lived a hard lifestyle, and every all-night party, bottle of booze, and drug binge is apparent in his weathered and battered face. When not working Randy lives in a trailer park, and his days are focused on the rituals needed to continue rasslin’- mainly doing steroids, working out, tanning, dying the roots of his mane of blond hair, and taking various pharmaceuticals to deal with the physical toll his chosen profession has taken on his body over the decades (he appears to have a pretty serious painkiller addiction).
Outside of wrestling, Randy appears to have few friends, one of which is a neighbor child he regularly coerces into playing an old 80’s Nintendo wrestling video game (because he stars in it, of course- amusingly, the kid is unimpressed and extols the virtues of his latest Xbox shooter to our egocentric hero instead). Another associate of Randy’s is Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), an older stripper working at the local bar he frequents. He regularly attempts to woo her with his white trash charms, but she sticks to her guns regarding her rule about not dating customers (I guess she wants to keep ’em paying for the lap dances).
One weekend, Randy is talked into participating in a “hardcore” wrestling match with an insane sadist for an opponent. What is a hardcore match, you ask? Well, it generally involves fighting with barbed wire, broken glass, staple guns, and thumbtacks. Knowing this, you might ask what the difference is between a hardcore match and walking through the South Bronx at any time of the day or night, but we’ll leave that question to be answered later (much later). Anyway, Randy takes a real beating and is legitimately hurt, eventually suffering a heart attack back in the locker room afterwards. After receiving bypass surgery, the doctors at the hospital inform him that his ‘roid abusing and drop kicking days are over. Randy naturally has a problem dealing with this, as wrestling and taking drugs is all he’s ever known, but his brush with mortality shakes him to his core and he attempts to change his life. Having no marketable skills, he takes a job behind the deli counter at the supermarket he works at, continues establishing a real relationship with Cassidy, and attempts to reconcile with his estranged daughter whom he’s neglected for years. Having little in the way of social graces or any real idea of how people interact outside of the scripted events of the world of pro wrestling, any one of these goals would be difficult for Randy, but he gives it his best shot nonetheless. But does he possess the will and fortitude to tackle the rocky emotional road ahead, or will the promise of a rematch with an old foe from his glory days lure him back to the ring, even if it could mean his death?
Mickey Rourke is receiving a lot of acclaim and praise for his performance in The Wrestler, and deservedly so. But what people are forgetting about his turn as Randy “The Ram” Robinson is that this hard-living, striving for one last comeback-type of character isn’t all that different from Rourke himself. The man has always possessed talent, but his real-life demons have often gotten in the way of his career. What I’m saying is that he’s basically playing himself here, folks. Despite that, it’s impressive to see an actor give such a raw, real performance, despite his own personal situations away from the camera. What also impressed me was Rourke’s physical conditioning- at 56 years of age, the man is in phenomenal shape, and even appeared to have done many (if not all) of his own stunts as well. Needless to say, the man embodied Randy “The Ram,” both physically and mentally, and unlike many actors, Rourke isn’t afraid to look ugly for a role.
His co-stars do a fine job as well. Marisa Tomei gives a gritty performance as a woman who is realizing that life is passing her by and is attempting to get things back on
track. Plus, she shows off a lot of skin, which is never a bad thing. In addition, The Wrestler features many real-life professional wrestlers, although I only recognized one or two of them. But considering the fact that wrestlers are actors in their own right, it’s not a far cry to cast them in a wrestling movie…plus, it preserves the authenticity when the guys are giving each other diving head butts.
But what really makes The Wrestler work, aside from Rourke’s performance and the abundance
of 80’s Hair Metal music, is the harsh realism. Filmed in the ever-popular documentary style (involving lots of hand-held camera work), this film takes you into the world that exists after an athlete exceeds his prime. Be it football, baseball, or even pro wrestling, there comes a time when you just can’t perform like you used to and must accept cruel reality, either moving on or wallowing in despair. There’s a scene in The Wrestler that exemplifies this: Randy is making an appearance
at a small wrestling meet-and-greet with fans. He has his little folding table set up with pictures to autograph and VHS tapes of his best matches to sell, but the turnout is lackluster and he finds himself sitting and staring at the other broken-down relics of a bygone era attempting to trade in on their forgotten legacies for a few bucks. It’s a poignant scene, and it really sets the tone for the whole movie.
The Wrestler is a great film and I recommend it highly. Go see it.
