The Wrestler.

So last night Gavin and I finally got around to watching The Wrestler. Hmm. Here are my thoughts about the movie:

1) Marisa Tomei is butt-ass naked in about 90% of her scenes. Ok, I knew she portrayed a stripper, but I did not expect this level of nakedness, as nonsensical as that may seem. I'm naive, I know. Like a cub in the woods. I thought maybe they'd put her in some lingerie or a bra and panties and call it a day, you know, for the kids. But no. No no no. I kept fighting the urge to cover Gavin's eyes with pillow or something, because girlfriend looks good. No wonder she got an Oscar nomination. Each of her boobs should have walked away with their own nominations for best supporting roles. They were convincing.

2) There is a lot more blood and nasty than I thought there would be. This movie is graphic. Gross me out. Like I'm just supposed to know that the world of bottom-rung professional wrestling is not pretty and clean and safe and glamorous. Whatever. I'm not a soothsayer, Fox Searchlight. How about a heads up next time.

3) This movie is depressing. I mean, sadder than a hundred dead Christmas trees depressing. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason I was expecting a movie about redemption, and I guess that's kind of what it was, in a way, if you like your redemption leaving you like you just stared at a basket of sick puppies for 2 hours. Rocky it ain't.

4) The movie is realistic. Ultimately, it is about the very essential truths of life: we make choices and then we have to live with them. In that respect, the movie is very good. There is extensive character development, and I found myself very much drawn into Mickey Rourke's character. The acting was excellent, particularly MR's acting.

At the end of the day, I'm glad we watched it. It was an affecting movie experience. It's one of those really good movies that I'm glad I saw, but probably won't watch again, like Million Dollar Baby. I can tell you one thing: I am really rooting for Mickey Rourke from here on out. I learned recently that he really really loves dogs, which made me go from being completely ambivalent about him to loving him.