Mickey Rourke Appearing at Wrestlemania 25

Mickey Rourke, who earned a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod for his work in “The Wrestler,” says he will participate in “Wrestlemania 25” in Houston this spring. 

“The boys from the WWE called me and asked me to do it,” Rourke told “Access Hollywood ” on the red carpet for the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night. “I said, ‘I want to.’ I’m talking with (WWE icon) Rowdy Roddy Piper about it.” 

In “The Wrestler,” the 56-year-old actor portrays a washed-up pro grappler who can’t let go of his glory days. Rourke has, in the past, said he underwent intense training to play the role, and, in the process, developed tremendous respect for real-life wrestlers.

“The nicest thing has been the whole wrestling community embracing us,” Rourke said. “The movie was about their world.”

Although he did not explicitly say whether he planned to wrestle someone inside the ring at “Wrestlemania” or simply make a promotional appearance at the event, “Access Hollywood“ quoted him as warning a professional wrestler by saying, “Chris Jericho, you better get in shape because I’m coming after your ass.”

Rourke is slated to take part at WWE’s “Wrestlemania 25” April 5.

The Wrestler Review

Part of the mass appeal to professional wrestling isn’t so much what goes on in the ring, as much as it is the theatrics that these men go through behind the stage.  The American populus loves to build its celebrity figures up, only to soon after bring them crashing down.  No place is this exhibited better than pro wrestling.  One minute you could be Hulk Hogan selling out 90,000 seat arena’s, and the next you could be wrestling in front of 100 fans at a high school gym.  Director Darren Aronofsky was in for a big challenge to create a piece of work that is not only authentic to its source material, but also relatable to a mass audience.  I can tell you that Aronofsky has managed to do this brilliantly with The Wrestler.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson.  A Hulk Hogan type hero of the 80’s, who now in the 00’s is a broken down and washed up shell of his former self.  Once appearing in video games and on action figures, “The Ram” is now relegated to playing bingo halls for menial salaries.  His body is bruised and broken as he lives in a trailer park and works at a grocery store.  Mickey Rourke himself is a bit disfigured from too much plastic surgery and is a true comeback story as he went from an 80’s star to being homeless and living in his car.  Rourke is the perfect fit for this character and the true visceral emotion he brings to this film is surreal.  You instantly like “The Ram” as he is not only a great mentor to his fellow wrestlers, he is also great with the neighborhood children as well.  Randy visits a local strip joint after his matches to see Pam a dancer who is also going through some issues with her age and being seen as over the hill.  The men aren’t interested in dances from a woman the age of their mother and she is left out as the younger girls are quickly overtaking her income.

Marisa Tomei plays Pam and while I am not a huge fan of her work in this film, she doesn’t do anything to derail it either.  Tomei’s interaction with “The Ram” is pretty fun to watch but her excuse of not mixing business with pleasure starts to get a bit old.  Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen, Across The Universe) plays “The Ram’s” estranged daughter and is the dialog between father and daughter is very realistic to this situation.  She feels that Randy was never there for her during her childhood and wants no part of him now.  Randy meanwhile has an epiphany after a heart attack where he learns that he is alone and wants to get close with the only family member he truly has. 

The Wrestler Trailer

We finally have an official trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler.  I’ve been anticipating this movie for a long time now, and Mickey Rourke looks perfect to play this lead.  They have been debuting the movie around film circuits and got a standing ovation at the New York Film Festival last month.  It comes out in theaters December 17 and Aronofsky will be screening it for Vince McMahon himself as well.  Here’s the plot synopsis:

Back in the late ’80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life…