Don't Call It A Comeback.

The Wrestler- Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei


Director- Darren Aronofsky





SEE.






Just for the record, Mickey Rourke was never gone. He's been making movies for a very long time. Angel Heart. Barfly. The Pledge. The Rainmaker. Sin City. Man on Fire. (Not all of them were as entertaining as Angel Heart but, hey, we all have our skeletons. Something tells me the closet where Mickey's are stored is deeper and darker than Dracula's crypt.) My problem (and, I suspect, the reason so many people are referring to The Wrestler as a comeback of sorts) stems from the fact that Mickey Rourke is virtually unrecognizable from film to film. And not in a "Wow! He really inhabits that character"-kind of way although he certainly does in The Wrestler. It's more like a "Wow! Reconstructive surgery, boxing, and substance abuse provide a better disguise than Carlos the Jackal could muster up" -kind of way. (Hell, he could be Carlos the Jackal for all I know or maybe Michael Jackson.) Glancing back at photos of Mickey from the early '80s (oh, who am I kidding? I was straight-up, mouth agape staring for at least an hour), I posited that, by all rights, this man should be as handsome today as say George Clooney. The thing is George Clooney (and I love the man) could never play this role.



I don't care how makeup, hair, wardrobe, a good script and good direction transform you, only a man who has been beautiful and then, literally, had the beauty beaten out of him could become "The Ram." There is no vanity in this role not when you're wearing a hearing aid and puking on yourself. That's not a dig at other actors. A lot of actors have gained weight, worn scars, and forgone glamorous hair and makeup in order to play more "serious" roles. Mickey Rourke simply was "The Ram" long before he lifted weights and learned about wrestling. He comes with the scars. He's not too pretty to play the part anymore. Actually, he's never been a pretty boy. That's just not his persona. This guy has always been about the acting. I dare you to name anybody else his age who would appear on screen looking like a worn out tire in this the age of the ageless and, simultaneously, deliver a character who is tragic and likable. Never happen. Darren Aronofsky is one lucky S.O.B.




The Wrestler is one of the saddest movies I've seen in a long time primarily because it demonstrates, unflinchingly, how lonely and fleeting success can be all while delving into the violent underbelly of the post pro-wrestling world (I mean barbed wire and staple guns? Yikes.). Despite the gloomy cloud which hangs over many a film based in New Jersey, this film is also a story of heartening courage. It does, after all, take courage to go out and do what you love even when what you love doesn't love you back. Maybe that's why Mickey Rourke fits this role so well.





EAT.



Whatever the hell you "eat" to pump up to wrestler size. I don't know-a village of plump, flavorful Italians (for the carbs.) Whatever it is, it plus the steroids will probably kill you before you get your spandex on.





SHOP.



Sorry, I know this is obvious but ever since Jack Black's Nacho Libre I've wondered what possesses people to buy wrestling masks. By "people" I mean non-wrestlers. Do you wear it around the house or when you're mowing your lawn? Anyway, I can't imagine anyone but an actual pro-wrestler or an S&M fetishist needing one, but just in case, you can body slam your way to http://www.mywrestlingshop.com/ and peruse their collection. Just remember, Mickey didn't need a mask to play "The Ram." Make of that what you will.