How Good Does this Look?!

It's pretty well documented on here how much of a fan I was (still am?) of Professional Wrestling, especially the old school stuff from the 70's/80's. WWF on USA, WCW on TBS, AWA on ESPN and even World Class syndicated out of Texas...PWI magazine and others that have since gone by the wayside...you name it. I'll still tune in to it on TV every so often for something to do, but it just isn't like it used to be. Seriously, I actuallly got a little misty last year when Ric Flair retired.

Anyhow, I had heard about this flick a while back and just now finally got around to catching the trailer. Wow. He's led a pretty fucked up life, but i'll be damned if Mickey Rourke doesn't look to shine again in 'The Wrestler'. Scripted by former Onion writer Robert Siegel and directed by Darren Aronofsky ('π', 'Requiem for a Dream'), this just looks phenomenal.

Randy "Ram" Robinson (Rourke) is a professional wrestler from the 80's, forced to retire after a heart attack threatens to kill him the next time he wrestles. He takes a job at a deli, starts to form a relationship with a stripper (Marisa Tomei) and attempts to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). Things change when he is drawn to the prospect of a rematch with his old wrestling nemesis...even though the fight may cost him his life.

Rourke has had his share of roles in horrible films, but he's also had those rare moments of brilliance in flicks like 'Diner', 'Barfly' and his recent turn as Frank in 'Sin City'...he's really parlayed his own personal life as a semi-washed up anti-hero into some decent roles where art seems to imitate life. 'The Wrestler' looks like another one of those type of roles and, for one, am stoked about it. Bonus of a new Springsteen tune of the same title. Film opens in select theatres 17-Dec, check out the trailer...