I'd love to see The Wrestler become one of December's surprise small hits, amid much more pedigreed and well-hyped Oscar fare. It features a sterling performance by Mickey Rourke, which most people know by now, but it's also a surprising and emotional story about a profession most of us disdain-- professional wrestling. With the first trailer for the movie now online at Apple.com, hopefully audiences will discover what I did when I saw The Wrestler at the New York Film Festival in October.
We've embedded the trailer below as well for your viewing pleasure. Rourke stars in The Wrestler as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a pro wrestler well past his prime who makes money by doing small-time matches on the weekends and working a dead-end grocery store job. Facing his deteriorating body, his terrible relationship with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and an attempt at romance with a stripper (Marisa Tomei), Randy finds hope and the will to go on in small, unexpected places. Yes, it sounds depressing, but I promise it's funny and lively as well, as you can see in the trailer. It's worth a shot, trust me.
