This is a very depressing and emotional flick – quite contrary from what the title might suggest. I was expecting it to be a ‘Rocky’ style gritty tale about some wrestler fighting the odds to the top, but it appears to be quite the opposite. It was about a tale of a professional wrestler (the ‘entertainment’ type) who had been to the top, fighting the harsh reality to not stay at the bottom.
Bitten by old age and waning popularity, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (the wrestler, played by Mickey Rourke) finds life is not quite the same as it used to be for him. He is part time wrestling, and full time struggling to make ends meet. His daughter hates him, and he hasn’t got a family. All he has are a bunch of wrestler friends and a stripper he likes at a club. Then one day, after a straining routine at the ring, he gets a heart attack and everything comes crashing down on him when the doctor tells him he can’t wrestle again. And the flick goes on to tell the viewer about how getting old can be such a bitch if you don’t have a plan for yourself.
The plot’s simple and engaging. It doesn’t have much dialog. A lot of times, the viewer is brought around The Ram’s life by following him from behind as a second person, just like a documentary (minus the shaking though). It has been some time since I saw a movie this good. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And oh, as a bonus, they threw in a few titty scenes too. The Ram’s stripper love interest was played by Marissa Tomei, whose perky tits – despite being at 40 years old – are still as amazing as any adolescent chick’s. This alone already makes it better than that successful quasi Bollywood flick – “Slumdog Millionaire”.
8/10.