Wrestling With Hollywood

I made another trip to the movies this afternoon, this time to see The Wrestler. I had to make the one-hour journey to the Fayette Mall theater in Lexington to see it, thanks to the movie's limited release, but I'm happy I got to see it theatrically. And I must confess that, like Gran Torino, I saw The Wrestler a month ago thanks to the glorious creation that is the Internet. But I liked it so much that I had to see the legitimate release as soon as it opened up anywhere near me. So just what did I think about it?

I liked it. A lot. Part of that could be because I'm a wrestling fan, and that's the main reason I wanted to see it in the first place. But as it turns out, it's a great movie from start to finish. Honestly, the movie didn't have to be about pro wrestling to tell its story. It could have been about football or baseball, and there wouldn't have been any substantial differences. The fact that the lead character is a wrestler is completely inconsequential. It is a movie about an athlete whose unwavering desire to participate in his sport of choice strains his relationships with those he cares about and threatens his own life. One could argue that it's a cousin to Rocky Balboa, only about a washed-up wrestler instead of a washed-up boxer.

Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei have received a lot of positive buzz regarding their performances, as evidenced by their Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. And both of them, especially Rourke, are thoroughly fantastic. But while Tomei is charming and likable in the role, she's completely out-shined by Rourke. You never really get the sense that Rourke is playing a character, but you instead feel like you're watching the life and times of Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Rourke portrays the character's heartbreaking existence in such a way that you can't help but feel for him. Rourke has created a living, breathing person out of Randy Robinson, and if you need any reason whatsoever to see The Wrestler, he's it.

I honestly doubt that The Wrestler will appeal to pro wrestling's critics, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a movie with seeing. It is most definitely one of 2008's best movies, and I can't recommend it more. I'm going to give it four stars on the Five-Star Sutton Scale, along with a big thumbs-up. And if Jakks can release a line of action figures based on the Rocky movies, is it too much to ask for a Randy "The Ram" Robinson action figure?