“Mickey Rourke’s triumphant return! ‘THE WRESTLER’ is magnificently real and easily one of the best films to come out in theaters in 2009 thus far! Rourke is absolutely amazing in this film!”
© 2009 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: THE WRESTLER
DURATION: 111 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: The Wrestler single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen format 2.35:1 aspect ratio with English 5.1 Dolby Surround.
COMPANY: Twentieth Century Fox
RATED: R (for violence, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug use.)
RELEASE DATE:Â April 21, 2009
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Screenplay by Robert Siegel
Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin
Co-Produced by by Mark Heyman
Associate Produced by Evan Ginzburg, Ari Handel
Executive Producer: Vincent Maraval, Agnes Mentre, Jennifer Roth
Music by Clint Mansell
Director of Photography: Maryse Alberti
Editing by Andrew Weisblum
Art Direction by Matthew Munn
Set Decoration by Theo Sena
Costume Design by Amy Westcott
Starring:
Mickey Rourke as Randy “The Ram” Robinson
Marisa Tomei as Cassidy
Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie
Mark Margolis as Lenny
Todd Barry as Wayne
Wass Stevens as Nick Volpe
Juda Friedlander as Scott Brumberg
Ernest Miller as The Ayatollah
Dylan Keith Summers as Necro Butcher
Tommy Farra as Tommy Rotten
Mike Miller as Lex Lethal
Mickey Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime as pro wrestler Randy “The Ram†Robinson, a former superstar now paying the price for twenty years of grueling punishment in and out of the ring. But he’s about to risk everything to prove he has one more match left in him: a re-staging of his famous Madison Square Garden bout against “The Ayatollah.†Darren Aronofsky directs a powerful cast in this action-packed saga of guts, glory and gritty determination that is “as irresistible as a headlock†(New York Post).
Mickey Rourke’s triumphant return! ‘THE WRESTLER’ is magnificently real, edgy and easily one of the best films to come out in theaters in 2009 thus far! Rourke is just amazing in this film!
“THE WRESTLER”, a 2008 film (released in theaters in Jan. 2009) had faced a good number of challenges during its planning and production. Under the constant constraints of trying to get financing and setting a budget and a film finding the right talent that would be perfect for a certain role was indeed a challenge
Fortunately, the film was well-cast and well written, “THE WRESTLER” definitely succeeds under the wonderful guidance of Director Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream”, “The Fountain”, etc.) and a convincing storyline by Robert D. Siegel. Magnificent performances by Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood!
The film revolves around wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a professional superstar wrestler in the mid-80’s who had one of the classic memorable matches with the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) at Madison Square Garden, in front of thousands upon thousands of people.
Fast forward 20 years later, Randy “The Ram” Robinson continues to wrestle, still wowing crowds but much, much smaller than the many thousands that he used to perform for.
Randy now wrestles on independent wrestling circuits, traveling around the country and making several hundred dollars per performance. To his fans, he’s a legendary wrestler but his life outside of the ring is much, much worse.
He’s behind on payments for his trailer home that he’s often locked out. He sometimes has to camp out inside his van but always in pain, in order to prepare himself for another match and mask the pain, he takes illegally prescribed medications and drugs.
Randy also works at a supermarket during the week and wrestles during the weekends. He also tends to frequent a local strip club where he visits Cassidy, the stage name for Pam (Marisa Tomei) who likes to treat him with special lap dances. You get a sense that Pam is not really enjoying her job and as an older exotic dancer (who looks terrific), but she doesn’t get much of any paying customers.
Throughout the film, we see Randy being hit up for info. of how they can get in on some drugs to help them with their pain. We also see Randy having a conversation with a fellow wrestler or is a drug pusher, hooking him up with pain medications and any drug that he may need.
We also see how Randy prepares for matches such as how they hide a blade in order to cut themselves in the forehead to bleed.  The following day, he has a match which will change his life.
As Randy prepares for a violent, hardcore wrestling match with Necro Butcher (Dylan Summers), the two start injuring each other with thumbtacks, barbed wire and glass. As entertaining the film was on stage, both men are injured but backstage but as he tries to recover from his injuries, Randy throws up and immediately suffers a heart attack.
When he wakes up, he is told by the doctor that his heart is bad and he needed a bypass operation and is warned by his doctor to stop taking steroids and to stop wrestling.
The fact that he has a bad heart and now a permanent scar on his chest has given Randy a new sense of life. Facing the fact that he may die, he wants to make things right in his life again. Especially with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) who he hasn’t talked to since she was small.
When you see Randy trying to tell his daughter about his heart attack, she tears on him immediately and she talks about how much she hates him for not being there and all of a sudden, showing up unannounced and trying to be a father absolutely does not rest well with her.
When Randy tries to tell her that he had a heart attack, Stephanie is just livid, thinking that he only came to her, so she can be forced to take care of him if he’s bed-ridden. It’s something she has no interest. He wasn’t there for her when she needed him, why should she be there for him.
Another wake up call for Randy is during one day as he joined other former pro wrestlers in a mini-event to sell their merchandise. Although Randy gets a few good paying customers, he sees around him of how a lot of these wrestlers have suffered. Some in wheelchairs, some in chronic pain or lifelong injuries, definitely a wakeup call that the fame the wrestlers once had is now gone. Randy eventually knows that he needs to change his life before its too late.
He decides that he wants to make things right and that he needs to stop wrestling and cancel all his booked events. Also, to focus on working more, getting a job and just making the best effort to change his life. But he needs to make things right with his daughter Stephanie.
So, Randy goes to the only person that he cares about and talks to Cassidy/Pam at the strip club. She tells him that he needs to buy his daughter a cool gift like clothing and that she is going to go back on her policy of not talking personal to her clients and ends up lending her help to Randy in order to pick a clothing at a shop.
After a morning of shopping, Randy invites Pam to get a drink of beer at a bar and the two go out. Both Randy and Pam seem to have some chemistry and even share a kiss.
As for Randy’s work life, he is able to get a job at the supermarket as a meat cutter and work in the deli section, so now he’s making a little more money to take care of himself.
And when he gives the gift to Stephanie, she actually is thankful to him and things become different for the two. In fact, Stephanie gives Randy the benefit of the doubt and it seems there will be a reconciliation between father and daughter. Both go visit a spot where the two used to go to when she was a toddler and the two even share a dance between father and daughter.
During this rare moment together, Randy admits that he’s messed up his life. He tried to provide for them but it didn’t work out and he knew he lost her, so he tried his best to forget her but couldn’t. He wants to be in his daughter’s life again and Stephanie, for the first time, is happy. Both decide to go to dinner on a Saturday to discuss this new family relationship between the both of them.
Now, everything looks as if Randy has turned his life around for the positive. That is until one night…
“THE WRESTLER” is a film about consequences and the moment. Showcasing the dark side of professional wrestling, it definitely gives us a perspective of knowing that Randy’s story is just among the number of wrestlers…old and new, who faces aging, trying to keep fit and doing what they can to get them prepared for the ring, even if it may kill them.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“THE WRESTLER” single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen format 2.35:1 aspect ratio with English 5.1 Dolby Surround. Picture quality is quite decent on DVD but I’m sure that a film with this much action in the ring should look much more better in High Definition. But on DVD, it looks as if the film had a lot of grain but granted, the film was shot using 16mm
As for the audio, “THE WRESTLER” is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround, the audience cheering and the constant blasts of 80’s rock music from Quiet Riot, RATT and other 80’s rock bands with music that definitely comes out strong through the front channels.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The following special features for “THE WRESTLER” are included:
- Within the Ring featurette – (42:44) An indepth featurette with interviews with the Director and producers of “THE WRESTLER” discussing their challenges the film faced, budget problems but working with the various talent and how this story is not to far off from the lives of real professional wrestlers.
- The Wrestler Music Video – Written and Performed by Bruce Springsteen – (3:59) A music video featuring Bruce Springsteen performing in the middle of a wrestling ring and clips from the movie.
“THE WRESTLER” is just a powerful film and I have to credit that to the performance of Mickey Rourke. The amount of work to get his body so toned and muscular is quite impressive but the overall screenplay and level of direction really made this film feel genuine. I was very surprised of how much bulking up he had to do in order to play the character of Randy “The Ram” Robinson.  But you can’t deny that Rourke looked perfect for the role and his portrayal of a man who’s lost was just magnificent.
I don’t know if any other actor could have really pulled it off. Rourke’s determination and how he owned this role is just brilliant and he was definitely deserving of an Academy Award nomination.
Marisa Tomei also had an Academy Award-caliber performance and she looked absolutely great in this film. Definitely a role that I would never have pictured her for, but nevertheless, she did great.
And Evan Rachel Wood, as the estranged daughter, she definitely brought the emotional element between father and daughter and how messed up things truly are between them. Another fine performance for Wood, who was absolutely wonderful in her last film “Across the Universe”.
What makes “THE WRESTLER” work so well is its layers of believability. The character living in a trailer park, the character of Randy still tries to live in his past relishing on the good years of when he was one of the most popular wrestlers. His mannerisms of dying his hair to continually working his various odd jobs. He loves it when people listen to his wrestling war stories about his injuries, having the neighbor kids come over to play old school NES (with his character) and having fans and wrestlers continue to support him.  But knowing outside of his life and the persona he has lived, his life is just in shambles.
What is very sad about this film, although the storyline features the life of one wrestler, is to know that in reality, Randy’s life is a life that many professional wrestlers have lived. Unlike other sports where an athlete can retire, many of these wrestlers in the 80’s did not have the big money contracts of today, nor did they have film offers and aside from Hulk Hogan, the truth is that a good number of the pro wrestlers from yesteryear are poor, wrestling to survive and like the character of Randy, estranged from their own family members, abuse steroids, pain medications or drugs and having to wrestle to survive.
How far these athletes will go to earn a paycheck which includes having their bodies battered decades after their prime as a top wrestler. No health insurance for these aged wrestlers and what money is made from one wrestling match, would have to be spent in a hotel/motel in another state or city and really, are not in a good position to continually save. So, basically when they are in the ring, they are relying on their own wrestling smarts but if they get hurt or injured, it’s on their backs and thus many use drugs or painkillers for their pain.
Where a film such as “BEYOND THE MAT” showed to wrestling fans a realistic and dark and downside of professional wrestling, “THE WRESTLER” is obviously a film that has more visibility and will expose people to this side of life of pro wrestlers and thanks to its Academy Award and critically-acclaimed hype (which is definitely warranted), I hope people give this film a try.
Overall, I was really impressed with the film and how well emotions were captured. And again, magnificent performances from Rourke, Tomei and Wood.
“THE WRESTLER” is definitely recommended on DVD or Blu-ray!