Marisa Tomei

Having seen Aronofsky's other films, I was prepared for this one to be pretty bleak, and it is kind of dark. I was hesitant to go see it because A) I?m not a fan of dramas, and B) Of late I?ve gotten burned every time I went to the theater. However, I am a long time professional wrestling fan. A fan who was somewhat astonished that Mickey Rourke not only performed pretty well as a wrestler, but the obvious lengths that were made to appeal to wrestling fans. Mickey Rourke has a match with Necro Butcher from the CZW (a very painful match involving barbed wire and a staple gun I might add). Normally I am not a huge fan of Marisa Tomei either, quite possibly because I don?t normally watch the sort of films she makes. But I find it surprising she didn?t get as much attention from this film as Rourke did. She did very well in it, and it?s probably her role as an aging stripper that keeps her from getting the same recognition. Apparently being naked dancing near a pole as part of your role means your acting abilities count less than if you kept your clothes on. Taking a moment to set aside my first attempt at professionalism and rationality in reviewing a film for a moment: OMG SHE IS HOT!! Wrestling fans will enjoy cameos by various indie wrestlers, many from the CZW, ECW, the former WCW, and even a few former WWE/TNA wrestlers. The matches are pretty much old school 80?s wrestling, except for the hardcore match with Necro Butcher. I am rather surprised they showed the death match style of wrestling. It?s popular and common in the indie wrestling feds, but not with the bigger ones anymore. Even though the Ram is supposed to be in the independents federations now, I thought they?d gloss over how brutal it can be. They didn?t. It was as accurate enough a portrait of wrestling as you can probably get in a big budget film. In short, if you?re a wrestling fan, there are lots of reasons to see it. The wrestling is done well enough, there are many cameos and little shout outs to fans (if the people making this aren?t wrestling fans someone working for them was), and you get to see the darker side of the wrestling life that not many people know about. If you aren?t a wrestling fan, and like a really good drama, you still have plenty of reason to see it, you just wont get some of the stuff that will be noticeable to wrestling enthusiasts. And if you like naked women, there are several visits to a strip club where Tomei?s character works. Have I mentioned she?s hot? She?s actually hotter than the other actress half her age that gets naked in the film. I should probably quit here before I end up focusing on her instead of the film.

The director of "The Pawnbroker," "The Hill" and "The Verdict" is capable of much better than this. While technically impressive (if a bit obvious), it takes us close to a group of unrelentingly contemptible mediocrities without any suggestion of why. Neither pathological study nor morality play, it simply dwells on the lowness of life and drags us down with it.