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.
"Love. Pain. Glory."
Top Billed Cast
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
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
W WuchakVerified TMDB Critic
2018-09-26
“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 guy...
C CinemaSerfVerified TMDB Critic
2024-03-30
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 a...
G griggs79Verified TMDB Critic
2025-03-28
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....
