In the early nineties, I got word that one of my favorite directors, Gus van Sant, and one of my favorite fiction writers, Tom Robbins, were collaborating on bringing to the big screen the story of Sissy Hankshaw in 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.' This alone was enough to make me vibrate with anticipation for weeks until the debut, but then I also learned that Uma Thurman, whom I adore, would be playing the big-thumbed title role of Sissy... and I just knew that it was going to be the greatest movie I would ever see. With all these brilliant talents coming together, what could possibly go wrong? It was like they were making a movie just for me. I couldn't wait.
And of course... like you couldn't have seen this coming... the movie sucked. Sucked HARD. In ways I didn't even think were possible, this movie sucked. Sucked AND blew. How? Why? What went wrong? Well, I have my theories, but that's not what this is about. The point is that I've been burned-- nay
nuked-- in the past by what should have been genius collaborations of people whose work I love deeply. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I was angry at the wasted opportunity, and although it sounds silly, I never trusted Gus van Sant again. I still love his movies and all (the good ones) but the stamp of quality his name once brought for me was gone forever. Whether it was his fault or not, that's still the truth of it.
This brings us to 'The Wrestler.' I'm trying really hard not to get worked up about this movie, but goddamn... I'm really fucking excited about it. I haven't been this excited about a movie since... well... see above.
Let's list all the reasons why this movie SHOULD be My Perfect Movie, appealing to so many facets of my personality and crossing a stunningly wide range of my own aesthetics and passions.
First, it's about professional wrestling-- a relatively new passion of mine (within the last year) and although my knowledge is a shallow stream compared to that of, say, the deep ocean that is my boyfriend's encyclopedic geekery, I'm no less jazzed at the prospect of a serious (ie. not goofy comedy) portrayal of the craft. The more I learn about pro wrestling, the more my appreciation grows for its first class storytelling, showmanship, production value, athleticism, and artistry. There is so much more to it than I ever realized, and so much more I haven't even begun to explore. I hope this movie at least touches on those things about it which appeal to me. At least it seems to have the potential.
Secondly-- Darren Aronofsky. I loved his first two movies (despite the harsh criticisms and seething hatred of my nearest and dearest). His third, 'The Fountain', was just fucking weird and a pointless, self-indulgent journey through Aronofsky's head-- and honestly, unless you're Charlie Kaufmann, the inside of your head ain't all that interesting. 'The Fountain' was, nevertheless, beautiful to look at, and no matter what you think of his storytelling, you can never accuse Aronofsky of sucking at his job. I've heard that 'The Wrestler' is his most straight-forward movie to date, stripped of his usual tricks and gimmicks, and from what I've seen in the trailer, it looks no less cinematic and gorgeous for it.
Third, it's a 'comeback vehicle' for Mickey Rourke. I fucking love comeback vehicles. I love seeing directors take a chance on someone the rest of the crowd has brushed off, and shove it right back in their faces with something brilliant that all the sudden gets that actor back at the cool kid's table. And from early reviews of 'The Wrester' it seems that Mickey Rourke will be back in the Hollywood consciousness again before you know it.
Fourth... Marisa Tomei is a washed up stripper. Anyone who knows me knows that nothing more needs to be said about it. If she lives in a trailer park, I just might die and go to heaven.
Fifth, it was written by Robert Siegel, of NPR's 'All Things Considered.' This is where it really starts to warp my head-- that one movie can appeal to the part of my brain that adores wrestling and the part that listens to NPR simultaneously... and also the part that loves beautiful indie filmmaking.. and also the part that loves broken down old strippers... it's really almost too much to process.. honestly it's like all quadrants of my brain whirring simultaneously..
Icing on the cake includes cool cameos from real pro wrestlers (I spotted R Truth in the trailer), and Evan Rachel Wood, who rocks.
So, while I'm gun-shy after the Cowgirls Incident, so far 'The Wrestler' has garnered nothing but raves, and I remain cautiously optimistic.
Please, please, please don't suck!!
If it doesn't suck, it just might be the greatest movie I will ever see.
I'll let you know... !!
