"Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me"

Since I've made myself a new Letterboxd Account I tend to rewatch films I haven't seen in a long time to refill my film list and Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler was one of them.

When I was younger I liked this film because I was really into wrestling, now I see the sadness. There is nothing happy about this film apart from 2 moments outside the ring for the Ram. His date with his daughter and his date with stripper Pam/Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). In the end it is just like he says, there is nothing but shit outside the ring for him. The way Rourke's delivers that line is so sad. He truly feels like a broken man apart from a few moments. Its sad to see him asking fans for money for a picture with him looking all washed up. Its sad he keeps making the same mistakes with his daughter. It is sad he made the same mistake by going to the ring instead of leaving with Pam.

If you have some interest in wrestling, I do believe that makes this film a bit more enjoyable. Seeing loads of familiar faces is always fun. And if you have never seen this film, I do believe you won't waste your time to watch this, even if you aren't interested in wrestling. This role gave new life to Mickey Rourke's career. It is in my eyes, his best performance. you have the amazing Marisa Tomei next to him and a killer soundtrack. And just listen to the song during the credits, its one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen tracks. Glad I rewatched this one.

Yes, Randy the Ram was truly a one-trick pony.

"Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me"

Since I've made myself a new Letterboxd Account I tend to rewatch films I haven't seen in a long time to refill my film list and Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler was one of them.

When I was younger I liked this film because I was really into wrestling, now I see the sadness. There is nothing happy about this film apart from 2 moments outside the ring for the Ram. His date with his daughter and his date with stripper Pam/Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). In the end it is just like he says, there is nothing but shit outside the ring for him. The way Rourke's delivers that line is so sad. He truly feels like a broken man apart from a few moments. Its sad to see him asking fans for money for a picture with him looking all washed up. Its sad he keeps making the same mistakes with his daughter. It is sad he made the same mistake by going to the ring instead of leaving with Pam.

If you have some interest in wrestling, I do believe that makes this film a bit more enjoyable. Seeing loads of familiar faces is always fun. And if you have never seen this film, I do believe you won't waste your time to watch this, even if you aren't interested in wrestling. This role gave new life to Mickey Rourke's career. It is in my eyes, his best performance. you have the amazing Marisa Tomei next to him and a killer soundtrack. And just listen to the song during the credits, its one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen tracks. Glad I rewatched this one.

Yes, Randy the Ram was truly a one-trick pony.

This has to rank as one of the best movies I've watched. Period. For anyone who HASN'T yet watched it, this is **not** a WWE movie laden with their (non) talent roster, posing as a movie; this is a very heartfelt drama centered around the fading dreams of a man who has become lost in the world of what he does to the point he's virtually no longer aware of who he is. Mickey Rourke proves that he's "not just another pretty face" (LOL) but the dude has some serious acting chops. Watching this made me regret that Rourke has seemingly been shuffled to back burners and almost-cameo roles instead of having films that could truly portray his ability on the big screen. He was absolutely amazing here. Shout-outs to the supporting cast for also pulling off their roles superbly as well, but if I'm being honest, this was a movie about one man, and Mickey Rourke played that part beautifully. I think the "supporting roles" could have been dead in the water and the film would **still** have been superb. Being a fan of the art of "professional wrestling" for some 50+ years, I've always been fascinated with the world BEHIND the scenes, but _The Wrestler_ takes that story even deeper than most of the "documentaries" or biopics that are floating around out there. What is even more telling is that I recently watched the _30 on 30_ documentary with legendary pro wrestler Ric Flair, and it became sadly obvious that the character "Ric Flair" had eclipsed/absorbed the real person of Richard Fliehr, which is essentially what is portrayed here in _The Wrestler_ . Again, if you've never watched this because you think it's "just a wrestling movie", you owe it to yourself to set your prejudices aside and give this a look. It's a drama about a wrestler, yes, but it's so much more than "just a wrestling movie". Absolutely one of the best movies I've ever watched.

NOTE: Due to the storyline and what it centers around, the language is very coarse and pervasive. This is not a family-friendly movie. I'm just sayin'…

“The Wrestler” (2008)

Twenty years past his glory days in the mid/late 80s, a wrestler (Mickey Rourke) struggles to make ends meet in New Jersey while wrestling on the weekends, taking illegal pain-meds, pursuing a dancer at the local strip club (Marisa Tomei) and trying to reestablish a relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood).

This is an engrossing, but gloomy drama about the grim reality of celebrities from practically any field who are long past their prime; it just happens to be a wrestler in this case. People mock how fake wrestling is, but those talented guys bend over backwards to entertain the audience with incredibly painful stunts. The film was shot in the winter in New Jersey and this augments the bleak pall.

On the female front, Marisa is absolutely stunning as Cassidy (aka Pam) and Wood is convincing as the embittered daughter. Their relationships with the protagonist are a mixture of sweet, agonizing and moving.

The soundtrack features several quality songs from the 80s: "Bang Your Head," "Round and Round," "Balls to the Wall," "Animal Magnetism," "Dangerous," "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," "Sweet Child o' Mine" and more.

The movie reminded me of 80’s metal star Jon Mikl Thor and the excellent documentary “I Am Thor” (2015) and, to a lesser extent, “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” (2008). While neither of these is as melancholic as “The Wrestler,” and “I Am Thor” is sometimes laugh-out-loud amusing, they both effectively show the grey reality of former real-life celebs well past their halcyon days.

The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes.

GRADE: A-