If ever a guy deserved an Oscar

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2010)

If ever a guy deserved an Oscar it is Mickey Rourke for his portrayal of Randy ( The Ram ) Robinson in this film. I believe he lost out to Sean Penn who played some gay guy no one cares about in the film Milk? Marisa Tomei also does an excellent job as a really believable lap dancer, she works well as both the sleazy stripper and hard working mom. For me she had the perfect mix of glamour and ordinariness to pull this off.
But it is really Mickey Rourke who steals the film with more realism than any film of this genre I can think of. Not even Stallones Rocky comes this close to accurately portraying such a sad character who is top of his field but sliding into obscurity or even near death.
Evan Rachel Wood also does a great job as his estranged daughter and the scenes between her and her Dad ( Randy ) are some of the most moving in the film.
Bear in mind that this is NOT a family film and contains some pretty adult scenes ( both violent and sexual ) but what really makes this film so good is Mickey Rourke's superb acting. For me he was robbed of the Oscar for sure. Fortunately Mickey Rourke won a BAFTA