ongoing

 A movie that couldn't get made for years because ... Mickey Rourke was the lead role and a movie that succeeds brilliantly because ... Mickey Rourke plays the hell out of it. Yep, Rourke is Hollywood's comeback kid in "The Wrestler." And, more than a few of us, thought, "Yep, that's him up there as the Wrestler, it's his life too." It's not, of course, but you can understand how Rourke - whose self-abuse and a slew of other things sent him sliding down the pole - can relate to Ram, the self-described "beaten-up piece of meat" who wrestles on wrestling's lower rungs. That is, he and other former champs who wrestled in the arenas are playing small rooms in small cities, but are still putting on The Show, and, god love 'em, proud of it. You think there's no dignity in pro wrestling? Fair enough. But director Darren Aronofsky finds pride and humanity in these guys. Sadness, too, of course. The scene where Ram and his buddies - and the wrestlers are all buds outside the squared circle - sit at an autograph and merch-selling session and see very few fans is heartbreaking. As is Ram's attempt at a relationship with Cassidy, the stripper-mother played by Marisa Tomei, and the attempt to make up with his long lost daughter, Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood.
 Rourke - his dyed blond hair and scarred body in most every scene - deserves all the acclaim he's gotten. And his appearance on the late night chat shows has been revealing; he has become a truly humble man, realizing he's been inexplicably graced this late in what was barely a career before this resurrection.

The story? It took me a while to see this movie because, despite the buzz, I'd spent enough time in the wrestling world. I was a teenager in Maine and guys like Bruno Sammartino and Gorilla Monsoon played the Bangor Auditorium, an extravaganzas put on by none other than the now world-famous Vince McMahon. (Yep, he started it all in New England. Who'da thunk it, back then?) My fascination with the so-called "soap opera for men" waned late in high school. There was a real world of conflict out there, and this "escape" wasn't working any more. An attempt to get into the new wave of WWF wrestling in the mid-'80s failed to work. Yeah, I could view it with smartass irony like everyone else with a college degree did and "root" for the faces or heels with my tongue-in-cheek, but, really, the thrill was gone and I felt stupid and cheap. Hence, my resistence, cinematically speaking, to delve into a world depicted on screen well below the one I'd once paid attention to. It's to everyone's credit here that, on a very low budget, they pull of a compelling story that  certainly dings some familiar bells along the lonely road out of (or back into) the hell that Ram exists in. The ending ... well, it's no "Rocky." You can sense where Ram is going when, against his doctor's advice - his life's work and play has left him with a weak heart - he re-enters the ring against his infamous old heel-partner, the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller). Your eyes will be glued to the screen and, though Ram in real life is neither heel nor face - he's a simple man with complex issues - you will care about his fate. 

One other point, which I believe to be true: We all know pro wrestling's fake and staged and all that, but the bruises are for real and these guys may pull punches, but people get hurt. These guys make their lives their career, and without the career  - without any level of fame or infamy - life just doesn't seem worth it. At least it's the point made here and I don't think it's far from the truth for many. t's a point to ponder. You can understand, perhaps, the risks taken by the guys who make it to the top and stay there. There's money, there's fame, you'll take the abuse. As to the guys who fall and still wrestle on the B-circuit, you wonder why? Good lord, do something else. (Ram does at a couple of points and it becomes his undoing.) So, you realize, it's all they got. What do you do when all you can do is one thing? You keep doing it until you can't or no one - no one - cares anymore. Note: You'll want to check out what Rourke has to say the annual Newsweek round-table talk with various star actors.

"The Wrestler" started small, but it's playing just about everywhere now. Check the website below for particular times and theaters. It'll cost you around $10.

www.mrmovietimes.com