Rival Angels

On Monday, I got to see The Wrestler  finally, which wasn’t that easy considering the limited release of this film.  It was a great film.  Depressing but great.  It tells the story of Randy The Ram who had it all, and then watched it slowly fade away until there was nothing left.  Iit’s easy to empathize with the man, his heartbreaks and shortcomings.  Really, the guy is left all alone after basically abandoning his daughter and basically working a supermarket gig to pay the bills between wrestling shows.  You see the guy going out of his mind trying to fill the time.  Books don’t cut it. Playing video games with local kids doesn’t cut it, though after checking out the scrawny physique on the kid, Randy implores, “Do your pushups, brother.” 

Through the movie, you see that Randy is, despite his shortcomings, a good guy who has a way with people.  His time with his daughter is painful through and through and his advances with an exotic dancer leave The Ram feeling devastated emotionally and alone, adding to the physical hurt that a lifetime of wrestling earned him.

The ending is almost tragic with the whole movie being summed up in one line, “The only place I get hurt is out there. The world don’t give a shit about me.”  Bad timing and bad luck are all that Ram has left, and all he has going out.  If you’re familiar with Darren Aronofsky’s work, then you won’t be terribly surprised at the conclusion of this film.

The nods to Ring Of Honor and other indy wrestlers are fantastic, especially for the hard core wrestling fan.  Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood round out a great movie, definitely go and check it out.