Aronofsky's "The Wrestler"

[TheBigSwigg 0]

See, from the trailers, I gather that Robinson is a cross between Jake Roberts (estrangement from his kid) and Lex Luger (appearance, both given health related setbacks that threatens to end their lives). Though I think this movie was probably at least written before Luger had his nerve impingement. Really we could probably draw compare and contrast Rourke's character with washed up pro wrestlers all day and have a hint of truth to each and every one of those comparisons.

 

Asked if he was trying to go for a certain wrestler's look:

 

"Yeah, like Lex Luger. And then when we Googled him, we were surprised to see how he ended up."

 

A wrestling centered interview with Rourke

[mfn 0]

broken link.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

Fixed it

[Diamonddust 0]

I thought it was funny when he realized all the Samoans are actually related.

[mfn 0]

that was a good read. thanks for posting.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I liked it a lot. Halfway through the movie I was leaning towards the idea that while the movie is good, I don't think I'd want to see it again, but by the end I changed my mind.

 

I've heard people talking about scenes that were laughed at during the movie by non wrestling fans...maybe it's cause I was a wrestling fan for so long that I could not find them myself.

 

My only bitch, and it's such a silly one that it doesn't count...ROH are such nazis about kicking people out of the building that I have a hard time believing that "hey, where's backstage?" Gets you a point and a hassle free trip backstage.

 

Very good movie. Rourke did great and I can't picture anyone doing it better.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Yeah, I thought that was a little bizarre too. Just having Ram toss her a backstage pass w/ the flyer would have erased that.

 

Sad to say in its own right, but Ram getting familiar and comfortable w/ his deli gig may have been the most uplifting scene in the whole movie. Even when he was bonding w/ his daughter, you knew he was going to fuck that up in short order so that didn't count. Also, anyone else surprised to see Ram not die in the film?

[spman 0]

As an high ranking manager for a certain nation wide theater chain, I certainly don't recommend doing this, but for those of you living in areas where the film won't be opening for a few weeks, if ever, there's a DVD screener out there if you know where to look that's essentially as good quality wise as you're going to get when it's actually released on DVD. I watched the film last night, and it was certainly amongst the best I've seen so far amongst the movies that qualify for the Oscars. Not sure if it'll win best picture, as the Academy goes back and fourth between the art house product and the mainstream films, so Dark Knight might have enough steam behind it to actually pull through, but if the Academy goes with the art picture this year, this HAS to win it by far. I thought it treated pro-wrestling fairly and accurately and didn't mock it at all. Rourke was perfect as the down and out champ who just can't give it up, and everything in the film is a sad and unfortunate commentary on the lives of many former professional wrestling stars ie: Jake the Snake, Scott Hall, and countless others who haven't wrestled nationally in over a decade.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Look no further than the Scavenger Town section of the board for that screener copy.

 

 

[Youth N Asia 0]

Yeah, it's a good quality copy

[Youth N Asia 0]

I don't know if the in ring speech at the end did it for me

 

Throughout the whole movie you get the idea that Randy's only wrestling cause he doesn't know anything else, you really don't get that he loves it too much. Just a way to make a living.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I think the "love" or to me, dedication is designed to be something unsaid but implied in the movie through the visuals like the hardcore match, drugs etc. I agree that the speech felt a bit out of the blue but I think enough was illustrated to back it up.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

It worked for me. I didn't take it as his passion having anything to do with the wrestling itself...just that it's the only place anyone cared about him at all. The speech works for me because it had been so long since he'd felt accepted that he'd try to express that.

[The Niggardly King 0]

yup

[Mik 0]

I enjoyed the movie. Nothing else I can add that hasn't been said but great performance. I hope there is some award involved.

[2GOLD 0]

I think if Rourke is nominated, he'll lose to Clint. Not because Clint gave a better performance, but because there a chance this is Clint's last and Rourke doesn't just burn bridges in Hollywood...he burns them, pisses on them and then sprays down the ashes with acid.

[bob_barron 0]

Clint's not a shoo-in to be nominated, as his performance has been ignored by several awards.

[CBright7831 0]

According to the website, the movie is opening here on 01/23.

 

Awesome.

 

[The Niggardly King 0]

I'd like to go back to the discussion of did he really have that much enormous love for wrestling or was it because he didn't know what else to do with himself... I mean, it was like what... 3 weeks into his retirement before he went back to watch a show?

 

And by the end of the film my feelings changed about Ram. I thought his daughter was being a bitch and that he was an engaging funny guy (seriously, I could of watched him working the deli for another 20 minutes) and by the end I felt nothing for him... maybe a little sadness.

 

And oh man is Tomei's body ridiculous

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I'd totally watch a sitcom of The Ram working at the deli. Well, at least before he busted his thumb up.

 

And the egg salad customer looked/sounded like a dead ringer for Gabe Sapolsky.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I liked that they used real wrestlers, obviously for the wrestling scenes, but just for the shitting around hey how you doing scenes. I wonder if Nigel got anything for his...like one line

[Youth N Asia 0]

23 24 The Wrestler Fox Searchlight Pictures $387,530 $907,631 2 18

 

movie was only playing in 18 theaters last weekend, wonder what kind of bump it gets this weekend?

[bob_barron 0]

It's still playing on 18 screens, and will have a similar PSA that it had last weekend.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I liked that they used real wrestlers, obviously for the wrestling scenes, but just for the shitting around hey how you doing scenes. I wonder if Nigel got anything for his...like one line

 

Sort of. He was chatting w/ The Ayatollah though it was hard to make out what he was saying since he was pretty much having to listen to a sales pitch for a new car. He was referred to as Nigel by Ram. And he was never given a closeup shot.

[The Niggardly King 0]

D'Lo Brown got to hit the Lo Down as he walked into the show but he wasn't in the credits.

[1234-5678 0]

Not till January 9th in the Philly area apparently.

 

Is it going to be a "Ritz" only movie, or is it going to be at more theaters in the area?

 

I can't find where it's going to be playing around here at all actually.

 

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Watched it today, great movie. Rourke was as good as advertised and Tomei had a strong performance as well.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I liked that they used real wrestlers, obviously for the wrestling scenes, but just for the shitting around hey how you doing scenes.

 

The sight of Necro Butcher in a feature film was just surreal and awesome at the same time.

 

A small detail that struck me the moment it caught my eye:

 

The scene where Randy is in his daughter's house; the living room is decorated with Christmas lights. In Beyond the Mat, when Jake is conversing with his daughter, the room that they are in has similar decor. I am pretty sure that it means nothing, but still. A weird little coincidence.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Necro came off as well spoken and genuine, I was hoping we'd see more of him to be honest.

[NoCalMike 0]

Umm, if you don't mind watching it on your computer.......

 

http://stagevu.com/video/zthbvlonakxy