Nerd Mentality

REVIEW: The Wrestler

Posted March 18th 2009 by Jacob Barnes.

I never liked wrestling. The golden age of wrestling came just a few years before my time and most of my childhood was devoted to playing with Power Rangers and Mighty Max toys. I don't even know the difference between a DDT or a DMV. Speaking of which, I should probably get down to the DDT soon because my license is about to expire. Luckily for people like myself, The Wrestler is not entirely about wrestling.

I have to mention that Helen Hunt does not appear in this movie. No, that lady you see during the first moments of the film with her hair in a bun is in fact the star of the show, Mickey Rourke. I think this man has about as much sex appeal as a pair of orthopedic shoes. Sure he looks decent with his shirt off, but his facial appearance is like David Spade after being hit with a shovel. Mickey's character tries to gain the attention of a stripper friend of his (Marisa Tomei) and his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood).

Like I said, the title of this film is a bit misleading. It is not about wrestling, but acceptance. Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a washed-up wrestler, and after a serious health scare he finds himself desperately struggling with letting go of wrestling and reconnecting with his real life.

The only problem is that Randy is a "fuck-up" as his daughter calls him. He's not a hero in any way, but somehow you can't help but cheer for him. We see Randy go back and forth to the strip club, the wrestling ring, hospital, daughter's residence and once again back into the ring. Each scenario led me to believe that he wanted to stay put, but he somehow screws up the simplest jobs when one part of his life conflicts with the other.

What makes things even more real is the parallelism between Mickey's life and his character's life. Mickey has said this character was made for him, and it's easy to see the realness in the film. I think most people have known a person like this who is not a "friend" per se, but they want to hang out and relive the good times. In one scene in particular Randy calls out to a kid outside his trailer house and asks him if he wants to play some Nintendo; Nintendo meaning an old wrestling game on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Afterwards, the kid leaves and Randy knows that there was no real connection between the two of them. The same thing happens with him trying to reconnect with his daughter, but on a more extreme level. It's the quieter scenes like this that give the movie most of its emotional appeal.

Aside from a lack of what some viewers were expecting, The Wrestler does have a bit of, well, wrestling. Fans of the activity might recognize some of the real-life wrestlers that show up in the few matches we're given. The matches are adequate with a dose of action and don't detract from the main point of the story. In one match we see Randy and another fighter go at it in a Jackass-style fight with an assortment of little traps including pieces of barb wire and staple guns. In another scene Randy takes a razor blade and cuts his forehead to make a fight look more real. If you're wondering why the blood looks so runny and natural, that's because Mickey Rourke really cut himself in that scene.

The Wrestler features an appropriate 80's soundtrack. No girly 90's bands with hair shorter than six inches allowed here. Bands used in wrestling matches or the bar scenes include Ratt, Cinderella, Accept and Quiet Riot. And no 80's soundtrack would be complete without "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses which Axl Rose donated to the film free of charge. Bruce Springsteen also wrote an original song for the movie, self-titled "The Wrestler." It's a shame this was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song because it really stands out and is perfectly suited for the movie.

Closing Comments

The Wrestler could have been a movie about a boxer, soccer or football player and surprisingly it wouldn't change a thing. The movie is about a single character and his interactions with people. It might not work on a level seen in the more casual Hollywood stories, but the acting alone is enough reason to watch this.

Tags: The Wrestler

Posted in: Entertainment, Reviews

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