A Standard Story with Amazing Performances

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2009)

It's hard to tell whether this movie is either an expose of the fickle, flash-in-the-pan realities of professional wrestling or purely a character study. One this is for certain though: Mickey Rourke will never be better cast. His performance as Randy The Ram seems almost too real...as if Rourke is aware of the quasi-autobiographical nature of the character he's playing. His performance is low-key, understated, and startlingly effective as a gentle has-been wrestler who is a good man mired with serious problems. Marisa Tomei, who plays an aging stripper who serves as something of a female counterpart to Rourke's aging wrestler, also does a great job.
This movie teaches the well-told but valuable lesson that good looks, fame and fortune are all fleeting, and if you're fortunate enough to hit it big, you'd do well to make the most out of your time in the sun. Wrestling gave Randy everything he had...and it took everything away from him as well because he wasn't smart about his life, leaving him a broken-down shell of what he was with no family, no money and no real future. Yet Rourke performance makes you root for him, despite his character's miscues.
Rourke and Tomei's performances carry this movie, which as stated above, is a standard fame-is-fleeting story. Overall though, this movie is a solid lesson about the harsh realities of glory.