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KELLER'S TAKE

KELLER: Review of "The Wrestler" - Pitch perfect portrayal of the pro wrestling industry and why one-time stars can't move on

Apr 20, 2009 - 8:38:39 PM


By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

This review was published originally earlier this year in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter the week before "The Wrestler" was released in theories. It is now republished here since the DVD is released tomorrow.

A lot of people will like "The Wrestler" for a lot of different reasons. It's a tremendously well acted movie. It's a compelling personal story. It has elements that appeal to men and women. It touches on family issues many of us have experienced in different ways.

It's also a movie that could easily have irritated wrestling fans were it not so well researched. Portraying the wrestling industry accurately, without the usual condescension and flippancy and cliches, is a challenge for anyone who hasn't lived the wrestling industry. This movie nailed it.

Darren Aronofsky brings long-time wrestling fans into places they have never gone before. With help from a list of consultants ranging from veteran star wrestlers to longtime indy wrestlers to wrestling historians, plus invaluable personal observations, Aronofsky managed to create staged scenes that felt like a documentary to my eye.

I've been backstage at just about every type of pro wrestling show in this country over the last 25 years, from the smallest indy show to big league, big arena events, from a bull fighting arena in Tijuana, Mexico to a country western bar in suburban Minnesota, from a banquet hall in Los Angeles, Calif. to the historic Amphitheatre in Chicago, Ill. And even a Bingo Hall in South Philly. In every locker room, there are some constants and there are some differences. There's both an organized chaos and an aura of camaraderie that Aronofsky recreated with meticulous, yet casual success. It "rang true," and that was one key to this movie's success.

Without a sense of authenticity throughout, some of the scenes might have seemed fat-fetched and outlandish. The lead character, Randy the Ram, played magnificently by Mickey Rourke, was more believable as a wrestler than most actual wrestlers. Without his acting and Aronofsky's directing, casual moviegoers may have felt the reality we know as wrestling fans was exaggerated and dramatized for the sake of storytelling. It wasn't.

The interaction backstage between wrestlers was spot on. Whether it was the planning of a match in the locker room with his opponent or the post-match handshake and applause from colleagues afterwards, it's all standard operating procedure for wrestling, and it was vital for the telling of Randy the Ram's story. Without that true-to-life relationship between wrestlers, the plot may have lacked credibility. This movie captures like nothing I've ever seen or read, including documentaries and wrestler autobiographies, the bond wrestlers share with one another. It can be tragically fleeting, but collectively it's as essential as oxygen to many wrestlers of all levels of success, sometimes having more to do with their self-identity than their families.

The movie's plot is simple, the characters complex. A has-been, broken-down wrestler who was at the top of the industry 20 years earlier, is now broke and broken. He works indy matches to try to catch up on rent for his trailer, where he lives alone, long separated from his grown daughter, with no sign of a love life other than a stripper at a local club. The club is a place he finds comfort due, in part, to the familiarity of the atmosphere from his glory days and the recognition he receives from the bouncer (who looks to Randy for a hook-up on an assortment of drugs for his "bad back").

As his body further breaks down, he feels more alone. He seeks out a relationship with his daughter. He's completely inept as a father, with a few good childhood memories to draw from when trying to reestablish that bond. But the traps of the lifestyle of a pro wrestler derail his attempt to find something worth living for other than another night under the bright lights with the random faces that collectively make up the (ever-smaller) wrestling crowds. By this point in the movie, we understand that crowds are the life force which has fueled his identity for decades.

There are poignant moments in the movie that wrestling fans will relate to. By filming at real indy shows in the Northeast, including Ring of Honor and Combat Zone Wrestling events, the fans were real fans, the arena settings authentic. It still wouldn't have worked without the right script, directing, and lead actors. Those were all present.

The single line that will stand out to many wrestlers is when Randy the Ram, with a broken down body, points to an arena full of cheering fans and says he's never been hurt in there, only out there (in the real world). This movie convinces the viewer that a wrestler would choose to risk his family, his health, even his life for another night under the lights. I've talked to wrestlers who have explained that mindset to me, wrestlers I know well. I always thought I understood (even if I disagreed with their choices), but this movie made me understand better.

If any retired wrestler feels alone and misunderstood, this movie might be his best friend. It shows the world what they go through, why they are the way they are, and what is so addictive about pro wrestling, in both a sad and an exhilarating way. Although Randy's life seems pathetic and lonely, there are aspects of his life that anyone who has never experienced the rush of being cheered by a crowd of 200 or 20,000 will envy. That hint of envy at the rush that Randy and other wrestlers get from the art of performance and the instant reactions from the passionate crowds is the key to this movie working.

Had Aronofsky not understood and successfully conveyed why wrestlers are addicted to fame, no matter how diminished it may be compared to their peak years in front of big crowds, viewers wouldn't have had sympathy for his struggles and choices and predicaments. Randy would have seemed like a lousy person who made lousy choices. He wasn't a lousy person, and his lousy choices were not made out of malice, but rather because fame is addicting, and pro wrestling, unlike so many other professions, rewards self-destructive behavior years beyond that behavior providing the pay to "justify" it, and does damage in an all-consuming fashion that can't be undone through a simple decision to "retire" and "move on with life."

This movie "exposed" the business in ways that might upset some wrestlers. There are pictures and conversations that go beyond most anything you've read in wrestling books or read in interviews in terms of creating a complete picture of how wrestlers work together behind the scenes. The blading is graphic, hardcore wrestling gory, and its blood-thirsty fans grotesquely selfish in their cheers for more sacrifices, oblivious to the price being paid by those who serve them their $20 worth of entertainment.

Vince McMahon may not like this because until now, he largely controlled how people pictured the wrestling industry. The wrestling industry pictured here isn't his, yet it is. The side of the industry pictured in "The Wrestler" preceded him, but it hasn't changed since his rule. This movie makes a case that the leader of the industry ought to do more to look out for its top guys after their years in main events have come to an end.

Randy the Ram didn't represent every wrestler, but he represented many. A sad many. After watching "The Wrestler," no wrestling fan will watch an indy show the same way again. And no wrestling fan should watch a WWE show the same way again.

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 23 edition of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter. It is presented here at the free version of PWTorch.com for the first time today. Subscribe to the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter or get an online VIP membership to stay ahead of the pack and enjoy many other exclusive articles, audio shows, interviews, and archives for just $7.50 a month.


Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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