Protozoa Pictures
Saturn Films
Wild Bunch
Not part of a collection.
The Wrestler
Love. Pain. Glory.
Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.
- Original title
- The Wrestler
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $6,000,000
- Revenue
- $44,734,660
griggs79
Mar 28, 2025 · via TMDB
What a film. It’s raw, heartfelt, and unexpectedly tender. Mickey Rourke's character, all battered pride and broken dreams, is a reflection of our own struggles, clinging to past glory while life keeps kicking him in the ribs. The themes of faded stardom, loneliness, and defiance really hit home. It’s not flashy, but it’s utterly gripping. Quietly devastating. I loved it.
CinemaSerf
Mar 30, 2024 · via TMDB
Mickey Rourke is on top-form in this depiction of fading wrestling star "Randy". Once the talk of the tour, he has fallen on hard times. His body hasn't the strength or stamina it once had and after one fairly convincing pasting in the ring he decides it is time to hang up his loincloth. Whilst his professional life was full of glamour, testosterone and showbiz, his retirement is much less so. Still needing to work, he takes a job in a supermarket and all so he can eek out a living and hopefully establish a relationship with his long estranged daughter "Stephanie" (Evan Rachel Wood). When we are in the ring, this is an action-packed and entertaining film that illustrates well just how brief these folks' moment's in the sun can be, at how fickle the audiences can be and at just how little a dilapidated body (and soul) can be left with when injury and age impose themselves. I was much less interested in the slightly contrived, and predictable, familial melodrama into which this sinks in the middle, though. I found myself really disinterested in his love life - with the unconvinced "Cassidy" (Marisa Tomei), or in his attempts to repair his torrid relationship with "Stephanie". Luckily, that is but an intermission before the grand denouement that sees him in the ultimate grudge match against his equally aged foe "the Ayatollah" (Ernest Miller). The script is lively and frequently quite witty, the direction of the fight scenes captures well the physical endurance required by these athletes, but it also shows us that their job is to entertain us - not to actually kill each other! Rourke flips from the wrestler to the tortured father well here, and the film is well worth a watch.
Wuchak
Sep 26, 2018 · via TMDB
“The Wrestler” (2008) Twenty years past his glory days in the mid/late 80s, a wrestler (Mickey Rourke) struggles to make ends meet in New Jersey while wrestling on the weekends, taking illegal pain-meds, pursuing a dancer at the local strip club (Marisa Tomei) and trying to reestablish a relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). This is an engrossing, but gloomy drama about the grim reality of celebrities from practically any field who are long past their prime; it just happens to be a wrestler in this case. People mock how fake wrestling is, but those talented guys bend over backwards to entertain the audience with incredibly painful stunts. The film was shot in the winter in New Jersey and this augments the bleak pall. On the female front, Marisa is absolutely stunning as Cassidy (aka Pam) and Wood is convincing as the embittered daughter. Their relationships with the protagonist are a mixture of sweet, agonizing and moving. The soundtrack features several quality songs from the 80s: "Bang Your Head," "Round and Round," "Balls to the Wall," "Animal Magnetism," "Dangerous," "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," "Sweet Child o' Mine" and more. The movie reminded me of 80’s metal star Jon Mikl Thor and the excellent documentary “I Am Thor” (2015) and, to a lesser extent, “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” (2008). While neither of these is as melancholic as “The Wrestler,” and “I Am Thor” is sometimes laugh-out-loud amusing, they both effectively show the grey reality of former real-life celebs well past their halcyon days. The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes. GRADE: A-
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
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Fandango At Home
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Mickey Rourke
Randy
Marisa Tomei
Cassidy
Evan Rachel Wood
Stephanie
Mark Margolis
Lenny
Todd Barry
Wayne
Wass Stevens
Nick Volpe
Judah Friedlander
Scott Brumberg
Ernest Miller
The Ayatollah
Dylan Keith Summers
Necro Butcher
Marcia Jean Kurtz
Admissions Desk Woman
John D'Leo
Adam
Ajay Naidu
Medic
Gregg Bello
JAPW Promoter Larry Cohen
Donnetta Lavinia Grays
Jen
Andrea Langi
Alyssa
Armin Amiri
Dr. Moayedizadeh
Michael Drayer
Strip Club Bachelor
Alyssa Bresnahan
Cheeques Bartender
Vernon Campbell
Big Chris
Felice Choi
Beautician
Bernadette Penotti
Tanning Salon Owner
Ron Killings
Ron "The Truth" Killings
Giovanni Roselli
Romeo Roselli
Robert D. Siegel
Autograph Fan #1
Sylvia Kauders
Hudson Acres Lady at Deli Counter
Rebecca Darke
German Potato Salad Lady at Deli Counter
E.J. Carroll
Teamster at Deli Counter
Abraham Aronofsky
Annoyed Man at Deli Counter
Jen Cohn
Get a Room Lady
Andrew Anderson
Wrestler
Daniel Solwold Jr.
Wrestler
Claudio Castagnoli
Wrestler
Robert Strauss
Wrestler
David John Markland
Wrestler
Jess Liaudin
Wrestler
Charles Renner
Wrestler
Darnell Kittrell
Wrestler
Brandon DiCamillo
Audience Member (uncredited)
Matt Cannon
Crazy Fan (uncredited)
Peter Conboy
Fans at Table (uncredited)
Robert Oppel
Wrestler (uncredited)
Mike Marino
Medic #2 (uncredited)
Erika Smith
Dancer (uncredited)
Ben Van Bergen
Deli Customer (uncredited)
Maryse Alberti
Director of Photography
Amy Westcott
Costume Design
Mike Marino
Makeup Designer
Anthony White
Thanks
Axl Rose
Thanks
James Manley
Thanks
Darren Aronofsky
Director
Andrew Weisblum
Editor
Ari Handel
Associate Producer
Mary Vernieu
Casting
Suzanne Smith Crowley
Casting
Mark Heyman
Co-Producer
Vincent Maraval
Executive Producer
Darren Aronofsky
Producer
Clint Mansell
Original Music Composer
Bruce Springsteen
Songs
Jacob Ribicoff
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Robert D. Siegel
Writer
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