DVD REVIEW: THE WRESTLER

Back in the 70's, "The Wrestler" served as a way for Verne Gagne to promote his budding superstars as well as his AWA promotion. In 2008, The Wrestler was hoping to serve as a way to resurrect the career of Mickey Rourke. Ultimately time will tell whether or not the film has an affect on the future of Rourke's career, but one thing's for certain, it deserves to.

As you've probobly heard by now, The Wrestler tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler 20 years past his prime who is still out there desperately grasping onto whatever shine of the spotlight he still has. Following a brutal hardcore match with ROH/CZW star The Necro Butcher, The Ram suffers a heart attack forcing him to do the cliché thing of reaching out to those he loves but has driven away for so many years, in hopes of not dying alone, and in hopes of leading a normal life, But the call of wrestling is too strong on the ram, as he is proposed a rematch of the biggest match of his career against the ayatollah and he accepts.

During the early development of this film, Nicolas Cage's name was thrown around as the potential actor for role of The Ram, ultimately director and producer Darren Arnofsky went with Mickey Rourke against the wishes of the movie studio. According to Arnofsky's statements in interviews, he knew the role was perfect for Rourke and wanted to do the film in the right way, so he went back to the studios said he was going with rourke, lost over half the funding for the film, and then had to sit down with Cage and inform him that he was being replaced. A daunting task to say the least, but I must applaud Arnofsky's move, as Rourke makes this film what it is. There has been much talk that Rourke reminds fans of Jake Robert's story from Beyond The Mat, while Rourke stated in some interviews that he was channeling Greg Valentine (perhaps moreso because Rourke looks a lot like him in the film) but irregardless of who he channelled or who he reminds you of, the point is his portrayal of a old school wrestler well past his prime desperately trying to stay in the spotlight is spot on. Having worked in and around the indy wrestling scene in recent years ive seen some of these stars desperately moving from booking to booking selling polaroids, and other wrestler's merchandise, while trying to still go in the ring, which is why I found Rourke's performance so spot on.

With that being said, this film doesn't just appeal to the hardcore wrestling fans, as it has your typical drama storylines as Rourke's character attempts to resurrect his relationship with his estranged daughter, while also trying to create one with his favorite stripper Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei, who still looks amazing as she does have nude scenes in the strip club and an excellent rapport with Rourke throughout the film.

Hands down, this is the best wrestling related film I have ever seen, and at the same time is one of the better films of 2008, warranting the awards it has received thus far, and the nominations its currently receiving. The Wrestler is now in theaters across North America, go check it out, you wont regret it.

Check out www.thewrestlermovie.com for more details and trailers.