I have nothing but nice words to write about the movie ‘The Wrestler’. Mickey Rourke gave us a fantastic performance. Well, if you can’t take my word for it... he received a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. That’s how good it was.

Wrestling as we know it, is now referred to as Sports-Entertainment today, owned by the McMahon family under the name of WWE. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels were a couple of my popular stars during the 80s.

The movie is a ‘worst-case scenario’ depiction of a wrestler who is way past his prime and how he manages to get by by working with smaller promotions. They’ve literally used camcorders to shoot this movie in a documentary like manner. Great job... Darren Aronofsky!

The story might have been simple but I respect the hard work that Mickey put in this movie by getting into shape and pulling off most of the sequences just a real wrestler would. Trust me... if you’ve not been doing this for years... you can get badly hurt! And I mean, badly! Very far from fake...

And yes, we got to see Marisa Tomei playing a stripper-mom where her ‘moves’ to Firehouse’s “Don’t Walk Away” was just as authentic as you’ll find anywhere. Mickey said he enjoyed it. And can you blame him?

Cheap thrills aside... I would have been happier if she was given a few more lines to regard her part as a substantial role. I just feel that they could have done a bit more.

There were some parts of the movie that I really liked...

...where he ‘works’ with a wrestler... and does the ‘Ram Jam’ thing. Oh, and of course... the ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ entrance song... reminds of those days when Bret Hart would enter the arena and people would go nuts!!!

The ’staple gun’ part which was really mangled but presents a realistic picture of the ‘hardcore’ wrestling scenario in today’s world. [Read: ECW]

Brings back such sweet memories of the 80s... such sweet memories.

I just pro-wrestling has lot its flavor... although I like TNA for keeping it to wrestling moves... and no ultra-hype like the WWE... where the wrestlers are not ‘gladiators’ but entertainers.

Why I do not subscribe to its ‘current’ form is because a lot of the stuff that wrestling was truly all about has been cleaned up... has been sanitized to TV ratings and larger audiences.

A lot of people in wrestling community did not like this movie... because they weren’t involved in it...haha... and because it portrays a rather ‘bleak’ image of the industry. I disagree.

I like this movie because it seeks to present the reality of the situation... and I feel that, in doing so, this gives the wrestling profession more credibility and respect for what they do... because it is the toughest sport today.

Moreover, if you can’t handle truth, then just maybe you aren’t cut out to deal with reality in your own life. This is just how I see it.

Anyways, if you’re a wrestling fan... you should take this opportunity to watch the movie,if you’re a wrestling or Mickey Rourke fan.

Bruce Springsteen’s track for this movie sums it all up:

These things that have comforted me, I drive away
This place that is my home I cannot stay
My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you’ve ever seen a one-legged man then you’ve seen me

In a nutshell, this movie just goes to show that you don’t need a big budget to win awards... what you need is a story that demonstrates ‘heart’ inspiration despite the realism.

For, in order to succeed in this world... that’s all you really need!