Some may call this a comeback for Mickey Rourke, but he has been working steadily. Imdb gives him at least one acting credit per year starting in 1979 (when he was 23) for a total of 62, including 6 yet to be released or made. Some of my faves were early ones: Diner (1982), Rumblefish (1983), and Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986). In the mid '80s my parents came to visit me and my roommates in LA and we had a 7:00 reservation at Wolfgang Puck's hot new restaurant, Spago in West Hollywood. We were there on time but by 7:45 they had still not seated us. Suddenly, all eyes went to the door, as Rourke sauntered in wearing a dirty, torn gray sweatshirt, followed by his entourage. He was given a warm greeting and immediately shown to a table. My friends and I stifled our giggles while my parents steamed. Now, listening to songs from the soundtrack ('80's metal "Bang Your Head" and "Balls to the Wall," way different from my '80s Talking Heads and Police), I return to the perfect desperation of Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson (who drives a Dodge Ram).
This was also a tour de force for director Darren Aronofsky. I'm a huge Aronofsky fan: Pi (1998) knocked me out--the migraines were an excellent example of "show, don't tell," a rule of many creative pursuits. His follow-up, Requiem for a Dream (2000)--OMG. I knew better than to go alone, and it haunted me for a long time (last Halloween I dressed as Ellen Burstyn's Sara Goldfarb). I liked The Fountain (2006) a lot, too, which some called Aronofsky's love letter to his wife, Rachel Weisz, and The Wrestler shows how this director just keeps getting better. Co-star Marisa Tomei is no slouch, either. See this. The Springsteen song doesn't start til the credits.
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