The Last Wrestling Maneuver

Rating: 7/10 (23 May 2009)

Twenty years ago, Randy 'The Ram' Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a successful wrestler; now he is decadent, living alone in a trailer, working part time in a supermarket and wrestling in the weekends. After a wrestling match, Randy has a heart attack in the dressing room and is submitted to a by-pass surgery; his doctor prohibits him to use steroids and wrestle again. Randy decides to retire and proposes the stripper and lap dancer Pam "Cassidy" (Marisa Tomei) to move to live with him. However she does not accept and suggests him to approach to his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) that has deep wounds in her relationship with her father. Randy gets also a full-time job in the supermarket, but he does not deal well with the world outside the arena and decides to return to the sport were he is recognized by his fans.
"The Wrestler" is a good, but overrated movie, with a drama that is very common with athletes when the end of their careers comes. Mickey Rourke returns like a phoenix in a role of a decadent wrestler that wasted his life and destroyed the relationship with his own daughter and has adaptation problems with the world outside the arena. The damage caused by the use of steroids should have been more emphasized to alert the youths that use this type of drug believing they are harmless. The gorgeous Marisa Tomei is also great and shows a magnificent body. Evan Rachel Wood has a minor but important role. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Lutador" ("The Fighter")