Mickey Rourke (in a Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated role) stars as retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, who returns to the ring and tries to work his way up the circuit for a final shot at defeating his longtime rival. Along the way, he tries to reconnect with his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), while exploring a relationship with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei, also nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar).
9/10
Ashamed of his real name "Robin", Randy The Ram is a struggling professional wrestler veteran on the his last leg. Between small gigs on the weekends and his job at a butcher deli, Randy visits a down to earth stripper, Cassidy or Pam rather for which he confides in. Telling her about his past glory, as well as his self realized detriment. Things go from depressing to tragic when The Ram suffers a heart attack after a brutal match. After a bypass procedure Randy is told he can never wrestle again. This film is so well done. I was teary eyed 10 minutes into the movie. An hour into the movie I had an epileptic fit from laughing so hard. Genuinely saddening, heart warming, brilliant dialog, perfectly shot and very straight forward. No gimmicks. The cross referencing of Rourke and Tomei's separate occupations holding similiar resonance to one another, is absolutely minimalist and completely genius.
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