Movie Review: The Wrestler Is Simply Powerful

The Wrestler tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a professional wrestler 20 years from the peak of his career in the 1980s. Once famous the world over (think Hulk Hogan), he is now reduced to participating in independently staged matches and holding a part-time job to eke out a living.

He is estranged from his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), and the only person he can confide in is an aging stripper named Cassidy (Oscar winner Marisa Tomei) who is also past her prime. Unlike Randy, who is living in the past, Cassidy has a firmer grip on reality and is looking to finish her career as she realizes that she cannot sustain her job on her fading looks. Randy, however, is stuck in the past, reliving his glory days by taking steroids to sustain his aging body, and following a regimen that includes pumping iron and tanning himself in a salon to keep up appearances.

A shot at his former glory, a re-match with his former nemesis "The Ayatollah," is derailed by a heart attack, forcing Randy to stop wrestling, instead taking up a full-time job at a deli counter. He faces issues of his own mortality and tries to patch things up with his daughter while attempting to pursue a romance with Cassidy. Things not being so perfect for him, he defies all logic and resumes his match with his former rival in the face of tremendous risk.

Mickey Rourke delivers a powerful performance as "The Ram" — his Frankenstein-like appearance and over-muscled physique belies the childlike tenderness and warmth of the character; the dreary world-weariness, confusion, and emotional pain he projects on screen is so real that it almost seems that he has lived the role. Best known for his role in the erotic drama 9½ Weeks and his critical acclaim as a cool, suave leading man in the 1980s, he completely disappeared from public view to pursue a career in boxing. The last time I saw him in a movie was opposite Don Johnson in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (which despite its tackiness was still entertaining).  In playing "The Ram," a role completely against his conventional eccentric type, many have proclaimed this to be Mickey Rourke's comeback, and I definitely agree with this view.

Article Author: Clarence Yu

Clarence dislikes the word "blog" but has to live with it. He likes to write about music, film and books when he wants to escape the insanity of life (which is very often). Luckily, his writings have found their way into several on-line publications. …

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