At the Movies with Fatwayne

I don’t think that you could find an actor better suited to play the role of  Randy “The Ram” Robinson than Mickey Rourke. He positively looks the part of an aging wrestler and because of his past problems in real life, lends a very credible aspect to the role that makes him quite believable. It is no wonder that he was awarded a Golden Globe earlier this month. He may well be in store for more awards in his very near future!

The Ram is a once proud champion professional wrestler whose time it seems has passed. Instead of performing on the main circuits, he is reduced to plying his trade in gyms and other venues that signal the end of the road for those whose glory years are in their past.  His body is failing him and so is his bank account.  It is sad to watch this physical giant of a man continue on  this downward spiral.  All he knows and all he wants to do is perform in the wrestling ring.  After one of his bouts he finds himself in serious peril due to health problems. His doctor tells him he has to quit his most strenous vocation and give up drugs and other aspects of his life that could possibly cause him to die.

We can not help but like Randy since his heart is a big as he is and most everyone around him seems to feel the same way. It is therefore distressing to see what he puts himself through to give his fans a good show. Now that he can no longer perform, he tries to put his life in order and find other work. He has a daughter that he hasn’t seen or talked to in years and so he attempts to repair his relationship with her. Evan Rachel Wood plays the daughter, Stephanie Robinson, who carries an awful lot of anger in her heart toward her father. It is touching to see their interactions as Randy strives to set things right.

The only other person in Randy’s life is Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) who works in a bar stripping and lap dancing. Cassidy has a soft spot in her heart for “The Ram” but she too is carrying her own baggage. Their relationship could best be described as partly cloudy with storms on the horizon! This reminded me of Rocky Balboa and Adrian especially toward the end of the movie.

Randy does his best to find employment but the mundane jobs that he can qualify for leaves him yearning for his glory days and the adulation of his fans. Ultimately, he opts for his prior life despite knowing that it may well lead to his demise.

This movie does an excellent job of exploring the world of professional wrestling without commenting on it in either a positive or negative fashion. It does show the sacrifices these athletes make as well as the friendships they forge with each other while engaging in this strenuous and ultimately debilitating calling.

One thing that interested me was the way the camera followed Randy around. I wondered why they chose to shoot so much of the film as if they were following Randy a la documentary style.  Was it effective? I’ll leave that up to you to decide for yourself.

This is a heart wrenching and sometimes violent movie. It is also a movie that will make you love and care about Randy even with all of his weaknesses. I liked it and I hope you do also!

Rated   – R -

Fatwayne’s rating  – -