comment #1

actionman says ...

Really pumped to see this. Awesome trailer.

Wells -- I didn't think you had seen this yet? Did I miss your review?

comment #2

Nick Plowman says ...

I'm pumped too, the trailer is the best trailer I have seen all year.

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

Saw it late, in Los Angeles after Toronto, and figured I'd get into it sooner or later.

comment #4

btwnproductions says ...

Whoever supplied you with the Wrestler web ad needs to correct the spelling of the director's name in the last frame.

comment #5

YND says ...

I loved the film -- my fave of the year after SLUMDOG and WALL*E -- and the scene to which Jeff is referring is one of its strongest, in my opinion. The nature of the scene, the fractured way in which it's told and the characters involved are all among the film's most indelible elements to me. Just sayin'...

comment #6

johnc says ...

The staple thing was a hurdle for me, too. Yuck!

comment #7

clancy says ...

There are all sorts of reports of walk-outs and angry responses to the film in general from Academy-type screenings. I was at one of them. Older audience members hate this film.

comment #8

LYT says ...

The use of a staple gun in hardcore wrestling matches is not uncommon.

My only question is whether Necro Butcher did it for real onscreen. I have no doubt that he would.

comment #9

Aladdin Sane says ...

Older members? Like what? 65+?

comment #10

Chase Kahn says ...

I don't think the scene is a 'speed-bump' -- It serves a purpose and those who are walking out because it need to grow a pair, it's a great movie.

comment #11

Zimmergirl says ...

Does someone's dick get stapled or what.

comment #12

K. Bowen says ...

It's The Passon of the Ram. But I figured the problem would be Marisa Tomei's wardrobe.

comment #13

LYT says ...

Naked chicks win Oscars. Just ask Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry.

comment #14

berkguru says ...

Zimmergirl you are the bomb

comment #15

trimmer says ...

SPOILER! Mickey Rourke steals Milton's stapler and Milton burns the arena down.

comment #16

The InSneider says ...

I think that scene is saying a lot actually. We feel bad for Ram cuz here's a 50 year-old guy who has paid his dues and this is what he has to do to pay the bills these days. At the same time, it's a commentary on the people who pay to see that sort of thing and how it's antics like that that have semi-ruined the sport. It's become more spectacle than anything. Wrestling today seems retarded compared to even the WWF I grew up with, in Hogan's heydey with the Ultimate Warrior and Sgt. Slaughter. I feel like Ram is like those guys except he has to do pull a stunt like the staples stuff in order to give the fans a good show these days. It's sad. And the film is haunting enough to contend for Best Picture. Isn't that Springsteen song great?

comment #17

LYT says ...

"It's become more spectacle than anything. Wrestling today seems retarded compared to even the WWF I grew up with, in Hogan's heydey with the Ultimate Warrior and Sgt. Slaughter."

HAHAHAHAHA. Because those guys were such talented athletes?

I'd stack John Cena, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, and Undertaker up against those guys any day in terms of actual ability. Hogan and Warrior were nothing BUT spectacle. Love 'em for that, but today's wrestlers are (mostly) far better workers. And guys like Terry Funk and Abdullah the Butcher, even as far back as Freddie Blassie, were doing this kind of stuff before Hogan and Warrior's heyday, and still do.

Hardcore matches of the sort that Necro Butcher puts on are mostly "special attractions" rather than the majority of what's out there. Even the more extreme promotions put on technical matches too -- most of the folks who do "deathmatches" choose to do so because it fits their particular skill set. You wouldn't generally see someone like Ram doing one without having any sort of background in it.

comment #18

The InSneider says ...

Of course they weren't talented athletes. Sgt. Slaughter had a beer gut. But who the fuck is Rey Mysterio? LYT, I respect you as a movie critic so please don't tell me you waste even minutes of your life watching that trash with today's pathetic excuse for stars. The WWF of today is embarrassing and if you watch it you should be ashamed. I remember when wrestling matches didn't have ladders and steel chairs and other shit like that.

comment #19

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"Saw it late, in Los Angeles after Toronto, and figured I'd get into it sooner or later."

Considering the TFF was in early September, can we be expecting an, ummmmm, "later" review from you at some point here? :)

comment #20

Chase Kahn says ...

I agree InSneider -- that scene also sets up Rourke's last line to Tomei perfectly, we have to believe that this guy literally puts his life on the line in the ring, yet he's more fearful of talking to his daughter...

comment #21

Chase Kahn says ...

And guys -- it's WWE...

comment #22

pchu says ...

I don't understand why would people walk out on this movie. As a part time wrestling fan, they got everything just right, especially the stable. Rourke and Tomei should get nominations for their work.

comment #23

pchu says ...

For some reason,Ram reminds me of a combination between Jake Roberts and Ric Flair. Especially, knowing what Jake has gone through.

comment #24

Discman says ...

Does the "older voter" rule still apply? Hasn't it changed since people started getting upset with the bland Best Picture winners and nominees during the 1980s? Many of those folks have died; hasn't the generation replacing them proven a *bit* more savvy? I don't see how else you could explain the win last year for "No Country."

Anyway, about "The Wrestler." It's an aesthetically challenging film. If viewers haven't watched Dogme films, or more precisely, the Dardennes' works, then they probably weren't ready for Aronofsky's excellent film. Easier just to fall back on, "I thought the wrestling scene was too much," and watch their colleagues nod along, than to admit that the film's artistry was beyond their reach.