My wife and I had "date night" tonight and saw Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei in "The Wrestler".

It very well could be my favorite movie of all time. Funny, poignant, sad, thoughtful, all at once.

You will not recognize Rourke, but his performance was incredible.

And if you are a Marissa fan (I have been since My Cousin Vinny), you will not be disappointed.

http://www.specialidiot.net/images/wrestler1.jpg
http://www.specialidiot.net/images/wrestler2.jpg

It very well could be my favorite movie of all time.

no matter what it is or how many stars it has plastered over mickey rourke`s distorted face, it will never be a "most fav" of mine:yes:

Great movie. And I think Springsteen at the golden globes (when he accepted for best song in a movie or whatever the category was) summed up the movie and Mickey's character far better than any trailer or review or even a punch drunk Mickey himself could. I am NOT, nor have I ever been a wrestling fan but there's no denying the heart in this movie and Mickey's performance. The kind of human tragedy was right up ther with "Death of a salesman" for me.

Watched it with the wife as well and there are so few that we will both really like, but this was one.

I am going bonkers to see this. Only theater showing it is a bit of a haul for me though.

Darren Aronofsky is an interesting director. He also brought us "PI" and a favorite of mine, "Requiem for a Dream".

I heard this movie is awesome. I have to see it.

Many put it on their top 10 list for the year and several had at #1.

I hated PI, but I know I will like this movie.

Thanks for the review.

Snade

I am going bonkers to see this. Only theater showing it is a bit of a haul for me though.

It is shown at only one theater in all of the Twin Cities, in the "Uptown" area of Minneapolis. For those of us from the St. Paul side, its kind of like going to Mars.

no matter what it is or how many stars it has plastered over mickey rourke`s distorted face, it will never be a "most fav" of mine:yes:

Kind of hard for me to understand your point, but, ummm, OK. Have you seen it?

I heard this movie is awesome. I have to see it.

Many put it on their top 10 list for the year and several had at #1.

I've seen a few this year including this year's Globe for best screenplay. The Wrestler, as I said, may well be my favorite ever. I think its a film with a lot of layers, and one that I may need to see again fairly soon.

Something about it resonated with me. The Ram was essentially a "good guy" who couldn't make good decisions and it ultimately caught up with him after affecting what few others were involved in his life.

I thought it was a stunning film.

Seems to not be in wide release yet around here.

Looks very good...

Can't wait to see it.

I saw The Wrestler and I liked it quite well. Another excellent piece of work by Darren Aronofsky, whose film Requiem For A Dream (2000) is among my favorites of the last decade or so. Pi (1998) was also interesting.

You will not recognize Rourke, but his performance was incredible.

I have not recognized him since roughly "White Sands" in '92 and am truly looking forward to seeing this film.

Very fine film indeed. Rourke's face is the way it is due to reconstructive surgery. He was boxing in Europe in recent years and I heard that he got pretty mashed-up facially. Not a strange vanity plastic surgery thing, an actual reason for the odd look to him now....

LOL when I saw the title of the thread I thought is was the Vern Gagne/Ed Asner flick of the same name that was shot in the twin cities in 73.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070930/

LOL when I saw the title of the thread I thought is was the Vern Gagne/Ed Asner flick of the same name that was shot in the twin cities in 73.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070930/

Not familiar with the older movie, but I sure recognize a lot of the cast. Who's who of 70's wrestling (The Golden Age). High Fliers, Larry "The Axe" Hennig, Nick Bockwinkel, "Superstar" Billy Graham, etc... Takes me back, I'll have to seek that one out. Great poster, btw. And oh yes, I'll try and see the new one as well.

Saw “The Wrestler” last week; it’s a sad but realistic story about an aging athlete in the twilight of his career. Possibly Mickey Rourke’s best performance, really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99825912&ps=cprs

That's a link to NPR's Fresh Air program from 1/26, an interview with Darren Aronofsky.

Another pic, linked from NPR:
http://media.npr.org/programs/fa/features/2009/01/rourke_540.jpg

I heard he wants to go at it with real wrestler Chris Jericho. :sigh:

Yeah, it's scheduled for Wrestlemania 25. I read the story today. It sounds like Rourke will win due to outside interference from Ric Flair. But maybe it's just me reading into the story....

I too saw this movie. It was really good. It will tear at your emotionally and I think the story has been told over and over again in reality, which is sad.

I also heard that the movie is loosely based on the real life story of Jake "the Snake" Roberts and from what I know about Jake, I would not be surprised....sad sad story.

Yeah, it's scheduled for Wrestlemania 25.

No longer -

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNews\General-Entertainment\20090129\People-Rourke.xml&cat=entertainment&subcat=&pageid=1

No longer -

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNews\General-Entertainment\20090129\People-Rourke.xml&cat=entertainment&subcat=&pageid=1

Wise decision.

Jericho said there's a big difference between playing a wrestler in a movie and actually being one!

Jericho said there's a big difference between playing a wrestler in a movie and actually being one!

Yeah it pays much less, you end up penniless with an enlarged heart and dead far too young...

Jericho said there's a big difference between playing a wrestler in a movie and actually being one!

You do know wrestling is fake, don't you? :boring:

Spectacular movie, great performance. The scene on the Asbury Park boardwalk broke my heart. Glad to see Rourke doing something decent, I always liked his acting.

You do know wrestling is fake, don't you? :boring:



Yeah, but you can only fake so much.

You need certain attributes and capabilities to 'role play' between the ropes.


Tal

You do know wrestling is fake, don't you? :boring:

Of course we know it's fake! But you still have to be in pretty good physical condition to take the hits and do the moves these guys do. Let a 300 lb. wrestler hit you and tell him it's fake! They do get broken bones, concussions and other various injuries.

Of course we know it's fake!


Stop right there. Wrestling is just bad actors with a lame script, who are on steroids. Wrestling actually makes day-time soaps look good by comparison. :D

If they are suffering so much injury, maybe they need to consult a few stunt guys, to better learn how to "roll with the punches".

You do know wrestling is fake, don't you? :boring:

Well, I'm pretty sure they'd beat the shit out of him just to make a point that it isn't. :yes:

Didn't something like this happen a few years back with another celebrity?

Saw the movie last night. Brutal....sad. Rourke is perfect.

However Marisa is.....well.....let's just say she has aged very well....

like the gent said above you will not be disappointed in her appearance.

Saw the movie last night. Brutal....sad. Rourke is perfect.

However Marisa is.....well.....let's just say she has aged very well....




She is only 44. I would not have expected her to look "any worse for wear", at that age.

Hate to disagree but wrestling is not fake.However wrasslin is.
Sad,poignant and tragic story with a superb performance by Rourke.

Hate to disagree but wrestling is not fake.However wrasslin is.
Sad,poignant and tragic story with a superb performance by Rourke.

Yes high school wrestling is real :D, but it is not the multi million dollar business that "wrasslin" is. I think we all know what we are talking about.

The Wrestler is a truly great film. Rourke's performance is heartbreaking. The parallel's between the film and Rourke's own life speaks volumes. He was the perfect choice for the role.

Great movie! Great ending! Mickey is good in the movie "Spun" as well.... :smoke:

She is only 44. I would not have expected her to look "any worse for wear", at that age.

I noticed they shot her in a very unflattering light intentionally to draw parallels between his passed-his-glory-days and hers.She stills looks great,and her performance is amazing,too.
Jimmy

The scenes with him at the Meat counter talking to the customers were great. The man selling "drugs" and Ram asking him to make some muscles was just too cool. It felt like a documentary. The 80's soundtrack and just Mickey's like ability just draw you in. The upbeat moments were so real and so full of hope that, the tragedy of his life was oh so much more poinyent. After seeing Frost/Nixon, it's a good run for the Oscars.

Mark

I'd like to see this very much.

Then there's the Tomei-factor.

Glad to see Mickey back on top!!

Spectacular movie, great performance. The scene on the Asbury Park boardwalk broke my heart. Glad to see Rourke doing something decent, I always liked his acting.

I totally agree. Mickey was charming; he made The Ram human and likeable. It was a fabulous acting job. I was pulling for him the entire movie... I wanted him to make a good decision and find his redemption. I wanted him to find what he was missing; I wanted him to stop hurting. I don't think another actor could have pulled that off. Mickey made you feel it all.

I would like to see it again, but I will need to take a Dramamine to do so. That hand-held camera made me motion sick.

Who was the actor/wrestler who played Bob at the end?

John

I found my answer... Bob was played Ernest "The Cat" Miller.