When I first glimpsed an image of an overly muscled-up Dwayne Johnson in a black short-hair wig in Benny Safdie’s The Fighting Machine (A24, 10.3), I immediately tumbled head over heels into a pit of black depression.
Because as much as I respect and admire people who keep themselves in shape, I hate dude bods with swollen, gleaming, well-oiled muscles and bulging veins and whatnot, and especially the sports culture that celebrates this kind of aggressive brawn and pumped-up machismo.
Johnson, a competent actor as far as it goes, is playing former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, who peaked in the ‘90s and is now 57. God help me but I’ll have to watch this sure-to-be-bruising tribute film on the Lido.
