Adult drama

Rating: 7/10 (22 November 2010)

Extremely downbeat adult drama about an over-the-hill pro wrestler who tries to come to terms with himself after suffering a heart attack. He attempts to reconcile with his only child, takes a job in a grocery store and woos a stripper. Mickey Rourke as the titular character essentially plays Mickey Rourke, a "bum" who is struggling to survive after decades of abusive behavior. Marisa Tomei plays the stripper, a character virtually identical to a character she played in a 1990s flick with Christian Slater as a man dying from a heart defect. The film is awfully graphic at times, and depressing just about all of the time. For reasons best known to Rourke and/or the director, this old-time wrestling champ has hair hanging down his back. Most old-time wrestlers are bald, balding or sport very short hair. His hair tends to distract.