Rourke Makes A Comeback

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2009)

It was really so nice to see Mickey Rourke doing some quality acting again. He plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an 80s superstar wrestler who has seen better days. The movie finds Randy barely able to pay his rent. His life is a series of odd jobs and small wrestling gigs. His highlight activity is going to the local strip club where he get lap dances from Cassidy, a struggling mom played by the invenerable Marisa Tomei. Tomei attacks her role with the same hang-it-out-there bravado that Rourke does and the two of them are explosive. An upcoming 20th anniversary of one of Randy's biggest matches gives him new hope to get his life back on track and he decides to reach out to the daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) he abandoned years earlier.
The indie buzz has been building about this movie since Rourke signed on. When the film made it to the Venice Film Festival in September it was quickly purchased and then the buzz turned to awards talk. So far Rourke has taken home the Golden Globe and has his weary eyes on Oscar.
The movie is just fantastic due to the fine performances. Randy the Ram seems like the role that Rourke was destined to play and character and actor seem to fuse and for a time the audience doesn't know where one begins and the other ends. Tomei is equally impressive and reminds us why she is already an Oscar winner. The movie has some brutal moments and some shadowing humor and is overall a really great work for director Darren Aronofsky.
Finally, the posters for the movie are all Rourke. If you're a Mickey Rourke fan like me then you will be running to get one of these heartfelt images.