Getting Laid...Off: Advenutres of the Unemployed

As of last Friday, I am officially unemployed. And I'll be honest, the dread that should come with not having that regular paycheck has not yet hit me, and I expect that it never will. Because I'm sure I'll figure out someway to pay my rent, being let go from my 9 to 5 feels like having shackles removed from my wrists and ankles: no more cube, no more memos, no more meetings. More museums, more two hour coffee sessions with my fellow out-of-workers, more reading, more writing, more weekday movie matinees. Yesterday, Strats and I went with two of our other homeboys to see The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring a jacked up Mickey Rourke.

The Wrestler tells the story of a fictional former professional wrestler Randy "The Ram," now 20 years past his prime. As the Ram, Mickey Rourke does an amazing job and should be up for every Best Actor award on the planet. There are roles that define actors, and then there are, as in this case, actors that not only define, but own roles. There is no "Ram" without Mickey Rourke. The female lead is played by my one and only true love, Marisa Tomei. (Sidenote: I have been in love with Marissa Tomei since she was on the first season of a different world, playing the only white girl at Hillman college). She plays a stripper, Cassidy, and the Ram's romantic interest. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw her on the screen. Enough said. But on the real, she gives an excellent performance.

As a whole, the film was spectacularly done. Aronofsky shows us the underbelly of professional wrestling, humanizing one of the great artificial spectacles of our time through the Ram's story. This is hardly an expose showing how "fake" wrestling is. On the contrary, we see the reality behind the show. An an added bonus, my dude, Bruce Springsteen lays down what is guaranteed to be the Song of The Year at the Oscars. Peep it here.
I give the Wrestler two YW thumbs up. Do yourself a favor and go see it.