Mickey! Mickey! Mickey! Mickey!

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2009)

"Hey Mickey, you are so fine, you are so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey, hey Mickey". Those infamous music lyrics are from Toni Basil 80's hit song "Mickey". Who knows? Maybe Toni was dedicating the song to 80's acting icon Mickey Rourke. The Mick powerfully acted in such 80's cult classics as: "Body Heat", "Diner", "Rumble Fish", "9 ½ Weeks", and "Barfly". Rourke roared on screen with magnetism, coolness, and self-assurance in the 80's. Mickey did not have many obstacles to wrestle back then except: women, fame, and money; and those are matches made in Hollywood heaven. Then the 90's rolled around and Roarke hit rock bottom! And there the internal wrestling with personal traumas, egoistic insubordination, and lost opportunities took a toll on Rourke physically and emotionally. Well, the good news is that the vigorous thespian roar of Rourke is back in a winning way with his superb performance as wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson in "The Wrestler". Rourke has been gradually climbing the comeback ladder in recent years with impressive supporting roles in "The Pledge", "Sin City", and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". However, those were just opening acting matches for the main event of Rourke's comeback in the form of "The Wrestler". Director Darren Aronofsky's heartbreaking but aspiring film rams it in as one of the best of the year. I was in awe in how Robinson's character is analogous to the man Mickey Rourke himself. But the commending aspect is how Rourke can somehow differentiate & assimilate between the two with his poignant performance. The fictional character Randy "The Ram" Robinson was a famous 80's wrestler with a cult following who somehow lost his ways in the 90's and thereafter. The present Robinson is lonely, contrived, and melancholy; he still has a passion to wrestle, but he is not wrestling in the same packed arenas he used to headline at his peak. Now he wrestles for little money at small wrestling shows at VFW halls. Randy is also a part-time grocery employee in order to make ends meat. He visits a city strip club on occasion mainly to see Cassidy, a middle-aged stripper with a heart of gold. Randy and Cassidy are not exactly lovebirds but it's the closest thing to a romance in "The Wrestler". Marisa Tomei's work as Cassidy continues to demonstrate that her raw acting proficiency continues at a consistency level. Note to Academy: Please give the Mona Marisa a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Randy also tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Stephanie, who despises him due to childhood abandonment. Their heartfelt emotional roller-coaster scenes are of the supreme handkerchief material. The underrated Evan Rachel Wood was potent as Stephanie, and hope her performance in "The Wrester" is a call to Hollywoodland to give her more credibility as one of today's best young actresses. Another nice slamming touch to "The Wrestler" is how Aronofsky truly depicts on how wrestlers support each other and are affable to one another outside the ring. Robert Siegel's screenplay of "The Wrestler" will be hard to defeat as the championing one of 2008. It was that strong, genuine, and reflective! The film's cinematography, editing, and art direction are also bona fide contenders to deservingly receive Oscar noms. And what can I say about Mr. Aronofsky, you get straight A's Mr. A for your tour-de-force direction of "The Wrestler"; hope an Oscar ring comes your way Mr. A! Even though "The Wrestler" had a tag-team cast and crew to make it a winning film, the ultimate ringleader of the movie was Mickey Rourke with his astonishing performance which should present him with a Best Actor Oscar and a legitimate resurrection back to the film industry! Keep blowing our mind Mickey! Its guys like you Mickey that inspire us to reach for the top no matter how many slams life gives us! ***** Excellent