Return to splendor

The wrestler, touted as a comeback for Mickey Rourke, although he came back

with Sin City, didn't he?  Whatever it may be, this is Mickey's finest moment.

He put in lots of time and effort into creating this character, with the putting on

weight, and training with a professional wrestler, it's not too hard to find his 

portrayal as a wrestler, very believable.

The story in a nutshell is about a wrestler who is still clinging onto his faded

fame, kind of living off his past glories. He has a hard time leaving this world

behind, thriving off any cheering he gets wrestling in smaller community wrestling

shows.

Having followed wrestling for many long years, I know the subject all too well,

and have seen first hand wrestlers who continue wrestling well into their 50s, 

some still for the love of the sport, others like Mickey's character Randy, still

clinging onto faded glory.

The whole movie was well written, well directed, and of course well acted

by Mickey and Marisa Tomei, who in her own way is hanging onto her glory being

an aging stripper trying to live off her fans, trying to compete with the younger women.

Randy is one of Marisa's customers, but he wants to be more, and she has a hard

time separating work from personal life. She does make an attempt to leave her

stripping life behind her, and perhaps start something with Randy, but he cannot leave

the wrestling behind him, even with his failing health.

His career has put it's toll on his life, his failing health, and relationship with his

daughter, whom he has had virtually no contact for many years, preferring his fame

over anything else. 

This movie is almost a Hollywood version of the documentary Beyond the Mat,

where they followed certain wrestlers and their life in wrestling. Randy's life parallels

that of  Jake the snake Roberts, who has wrestled his own demons with drugs and

alcohol, and a strained relationship with his daughter who he hasn't seen in many

years, and tries to reconcile with her, just like Randy tries with his daughter.

A very realistic movie, finally a movie about wrestling that is totally believable, 

and shows how hard it is to leave fame behind.

I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.