History Film / TheWrestler

* JerkassHasAPoint: At first it seems like Stephanie is unreasonably harsh and unsympathetic towards Randy. It's hard to fault her for feeling that way considering how it's implied that Randy has been an inadequate and emotionally unavailable parent for most of her life. It's not unreasonable to assume that Randy has tried reconciling with her more than once already (and failed) going by [[spoiler: her tearful reaction to him not showing up to dinner.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: At first it seems like Stephanie is unreasonably harsh and unsympathetic towards Randy. It's hard to fault her for feeling that considering how it's implied that Randy has been an inadequate and emotionally unavailable parent for most of her life. It's not unreasonable to assume that Randy has tried reconciling with her more than once already (and failed) going by [[spoiler: her tearful reaction to him not showing up to dinner.]]

* GarbageWrestler: CZW and ROH regular Necro Butcher makes an appearance in the film, and he puts Randy through hell in a hardcore match.

* DoNotCallMePaul: Randy doesn't like being called [[spoiler:Robin Ramzinski]], his real name. Subverted with Cassidy, whose real name is Pam. She doesn't mind being called either.

* ForeignWrestlingHeel: The Ayatollah character is this to a T, but Bob, the man behind the gimmick, is [[MeanCharacterNiceActor a much nicer guy.]]

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: Played with. Whether or not Randy himself dies from his second heart attack at the end is left up in the air.]]
* HollywoodHeartAttack: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Randy suddenly gets dizzy, has pains in his arm, throws up, and collapses, waking up later in the hospital after surgery. He reacts in a confused daze when he finally wakes up, barely remembering what'd just happened.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The movie is actually a {{deconstruction}} of the type of films the trailer makes it out to be. It's a ''lot'' [[TearJerker more heavy]] and than is implied.

* NotSoDifferent: In one of the lighter scenes, Randy expresses his dislike for [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] and considers him the perfect representative for the death of the fun, party-centric rock era of the '80s. But both men fall on hard times, and [[spoiler: Randy's implied fate, where he willingly continues the fight knowing it will likely be his death, [[FunnyAneurysmMoment is not too dissimilar from Cobain's end.]]]]

** Rourke's performance, in light of his personal life especially. Of course, [[AwardSnub he still didn't win.]]

* PacManFever: Averted; they even [[DoingItForTheArt created a fully working NES game for the movie]].

* CareerResurrection: The movie is credited with resuscitating Mickey Rourke's film career. In-universe, Randy ''tries'', but the sad truth is that his age and his injuries [[DentedIron have taken their toll]].

* HateSink: Wayne, Randy's manager at the supermarket, is an irredeemable douche not just to him but to everybody else that the man's seen interacting with. Wayne's [[DeadpanSnarker brutally snarky]] lines are sometimes [[ActuallyPrettyFunny pretty funny]].[[note]]It helps that he's played by stand up comedian Todd Barry.[[/note]] Still, he's the only character to come off as a total {{jerkass}}.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title refers to both Randy's job as a professional wrestler and the struggles in his personal life, since "wrestle" is also as formal term for "struggle".

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title refers to Randy's life as a professional wrestler and given that the word "wrestle" is a formal word for "struggle" the title also refers to how Randy is struggling in life in general.

* ButtMonkey: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] to a significant degree. Randy's misfortunes could be [[PlayedForLaughs played for comedy]] in a sitcom or a less serious movie, but ''here'' his struggles are so depressive and severe that he's this in almost every aspect of his life ''except when he's wrestling''. At which point he manages to become a god among men for a handful of minutes.

* ButtMonkey: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] to a significant degree. Randy's misfortunes could be [[PlayedForLaughs played for comedy]] in a sitcom or a less serious movie, but ''here'' his struggles are so depressive and severe that he's this in almost every aspect of his life ''except when he's wrestling''. At which point he manages to becomes a god among men for a handful of minutes.

* MetaCasting: Rourke, who himself experienced a serious career decline and later surged back to the spotlight.

* BolivianArmyEnding: The end credits roll right before the audience finds out [[spoiler:if Randy died performing his signature move, or if he survived another heart attack like he did earlier in the movie.]]

* BittersweetEnding:
** Randy [[spoiler: loses his daughter, his job, his only friend, and his health]] by the end of the movie. [[spoiler: But he winds up finishing the movie in the ring, where he belongs.]]
** Could also be seen as a pure {{downer ending}}, since some interpret it as [[spoiler: Randy [[CasualtyInTheRing dying in the last scene]], throwing his life away needlessly due to his inability to live outside the ring.]]

* NeverTrustATrailer: The movie is actually a {{deconstruction}} of the type of films the trailer makes it out to be. It's a ''lot'' [[TearJearker more heavy]] and than is implied.

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:It's pretty obvious Randy ''wants'' to die in the ring once it becomes clear there's no chance his daughter will ever be able to love him again.]]

* DeathSeeker / DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:It's pretty obvious Randy ''wants'' to die in the ring once it becomes clear there's no chance his daughter will ever be able to love him again.]]
* DentedIron: Randy's body is in terrible shape, and he really should have given up wrestling at least a decade ago.
* DyeingForYourArt: In-universe. That scene where Randy cuts himself with the razor? That's a real injury, known in the business as "blading". Not to mention the thumbtacks, the barbed wire, and getting stapled in the ring during the hardcore match.

* {{Expy}}: While Randy has elements of various wrestlers about him (Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], etc.), the Ayatollah is a straight up expy of Wrestling/TheIronSheik (though is ''nowhere'' near as insane as the {{real life}} Sheik). The real wrestler's famous "camel clutch" move is even copied in the final bout [[spoiler:(by both wrestlers, no less!)]].

* FanDisservice: The butt shot where Randy injects steroids. Which, to make matters worse, shows up on the DVD menu.

* HateSink: Wayne, Randy's manager at the supermarket, is an irredeemable douche not just to him but to everybody else that the man's seen interacting with. Wayne's [[DeadpanSnarker brutally snarky]] lines are sometimes [[ActuallyPrettyFunny pretty funny]] (it helps that he's played by stand up comedian Todd Barry). Still, he's the only character to come off as a total {{jerkass}}.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor / FriendlyEnemy: The film shows the behind the scenes interactions between wrestlers, who are all friendly and respectful to each other in spite of their kayfabe rivalries. Randy's old rival the Ayatollah, in particular, is a very nice guy offstage. This is further exemplified when he tries to end the match early when Randy is in pain.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The movie is actually a {{deconstruction}} of the type of films the trailer makes it out to be. It's a ''lot'' more heavy and a [[TearJerker tearjerker]] than is implied.

* OscarBait: Rourke's performance, in light of his personal life especially. Of course, [[AwardSnub he still didn't win.]]
** Springsteen's tune [[EndingTheme played over the end credits]] had it even worse. Considered a strong contender for the Best Original Song trophy, it didn't even get ''nominated''. It did win the analogous awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Golden Globes, though.
* PacManFever: Averted; they even [[DoingItForTheArt created a fully working NES game for the movie (albeit one that looks like it could have been a launch title for the system).]]
* PetTheDog: The first thing we see Randy do when he's off the clock is horse around with some kids at his trailer park.
** We see a routine but heartwarming moment of Cassidy interacting with her family. [[spoiler:Her son is playing with an action figure that Randy himself asked her to give to him.]]

** A minor one: notice that Cassidy is very covered up when she and Randy go shopping? Strippers notably dress very modestly when off work, to avoid developing tan lines.
** Another minor but telling one: the filmmakers went to all the trouble to create a fully working and totally believable NES game for Randy and to play with a neighborhood kid, going to all the trouble of making the graphics and sound authentic.

* WrestlingDoesntPay, TheMovie: Even though he also works full-time, Randy can barely afford the rent on his ''trailer'' and doesn't even have a phone (neither cell phone nor landline). With the amount of money he pays for tanning, hair styling, steroids and so forth, he probably spends more money on his wrestling than he earns from it.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Randy's rematch with the Ayatollah is foreshadowed by the video game he was playing with a neighborhood kid. [spoiler:The parallels are actually pretty close. Both in and out of the game, Randy passes up the chance to cleanly pin the Ayatollah in favor of going for [[FinishingMove the Ram Jam]], a flashy but physically taxing move].

* ButtMonkey: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] to a significant degree. Randy's misfortunes would be played for laughs in a sitcom or less serious movie, but ''here'' his struggles are so depressive and severe that he's this in almost every aspect of his life ''except when he's wrestling''. At which point he manages to becomes a god among men for a handful of minutes.

* {{Expy}}: While Randy has elements of various wrestlers about him (Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], etc.), the Ayatollah is a straight up expy of Wrestling/TheIronSheik (though is ''nowhere'' near as insane as the {{real life}} Sheik). The real wrestler's famous "camel clutch" move is even copied in the final bout.
* FallenOnHardTimesJob: It looks like this will be the case with Randy, working the deli counter. It gets subverted when we see that he has a knack for interacting with customers. [[spoiler: Although he hates it when he gets recognized, and everything eventually blows up when his daughter rejects him for good.]]

* FiremenAreHot: At least according to the one-night stand Randy picks up.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Randy's match with the Ayatollah is foreshadowed by the video game he was playing. [spoiler:Randy passes up the chance to cleanly pin the Ayatollah in favor of going for [[FinishingMove the Ram Jam]], despite knowing full well it'll probably be his death.

* GentleGiant: Despite his towering appearance, Randy's an incredibly nice guy, albeit working out some personal demons. This applies to ''all'' of the traditional looking wrestlers that he interacts with as well, friendly to a man.

* HateSink: Wayne, Randy's manager at the supermarket, is an irredeemable douche not just to him but to everybody else that the man's seen interacting with. However, Wayne's [[DeadpanSnarker brutally snarky]] lines are sometimes [[ActuallyPrettyFunny pretty funny]] (it helps that he's played by stand up comedian Todd Barry.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Randy tries to reconnect with his daughter. [[spoiler: After succeeding but then disappointing her again one last time, she abandons him forever. This convinces him to go on his death quest. It doesn't help that his efforts to reach out to Cassidy/Pam blow up in his face as well.]]

* HollywoodHeartAttack: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Randy suddenly gets dizzy, has pains in his arm, throws up, and collapses, waking up later in the hospital after surgery.

** Springsteen's tune played over the end credits had it even worse. Considered a strong contender for the Best Original Song trophy, it didn't even get ''nominated''. It did win the analogous awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Golden Globes, though.

* SoulSuckingRetailJob: Randy's day job, which he treats as unbearable drudgery. He starts to actually enjoy himself when he's allowed to work with customers, but he still turns his back on a normal day-to-day job in pursuit of stardom.

''The Wrestler'' is a 2008 film written by Robert D. Siegel and directed by Creator/DarrenAronofsky. The story follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Creator/MickeyRourke), a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] 20 years past his prime, working match to match and part-time at a supermarket to pay his bills. After a violent hardcore match, Randy has a heart attack and is forced to retire and tries to find something meaningful in his life beyond wrestling; his friendship with a stripper named Cassidy (Creator/MarisaTomei) and a new reason to attempt reconciliation with his daughter Stephanie (Creator/EvanRachelWood). When his old wrestling nemesis "The Ayatollah" (played by former Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestler Ernest "The Cat" Miller) proposes a rematch on the anniversary of their biggest match, Randy has to decide if his life in the ring is worth the risk of death.

* ButtMonkey: Subverted to a degree, and not played for laughs. Randy is certainly this in almost every aspect of his life ''except when he's wrestling'', at which point he becomes a god among men for ten minutes.
* CareerResurrection: The movie is credited with resuscitating Mickey Rourke's film career. In-universe, Randy ''tries'', but the sad truth is that his age and his injuries have taken their toll.

* {{Expy}}: While Randy has elements of various wrestlers about him (Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], etc.), the Ayatollah is a straight up expy of Wrestling/TheIronSheik (though is ''nowhere'' near as insane as the {{real life}} Sheik).
* FallenOnHardTimesJob: Randy, working the deli counter. It gets subverted when we see that Randy has a knack for interacting with customers. [[spoiler: Although he hates it when he gets recognized.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Randy's match with the Ayatollah is foreshadowed by the video game he was playing.
* GarbageWrestler: CZW and ROH regular Necro Butcher makes an appearance in the film, and puts Randy through hell in a hardcore match.
* GentleGiant: Despite his towering appearance, Randy's an incredibly nice guy.

* GloryDays: The main thrust of the film. Randy is unable to live outside of the glow of his glory days. He shares a common bond with Cassidy, who is also in the twilight of her profession. Their conversation about '80s cock-rock shows how they both prefer the old days.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Randy tries to reconnect with his daughter. [[spoiler: After succeeding but then disappointing her again one last time, she abandons him forever. This convinces him to go on his death quest.]]

* HollywoodHeartAttack: Averted. Randy suddenly gets dizzy, has pains in his arm, throws up, and collapses, waking up later in the hospital after surgery.

* {{Jerkass}}: Wayne, the manager at the supermarket.

* MissingMom: No mention at all is made of Stephanie's mother. It's obvious that she and Randy haven't been together for years, if they ever were at all.

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Randy presumably blew all of his earnings from his stardom on this type of living.

''The Wrestler'' is a 2008 film written by Robert D. Siegel and directed by Creator/DarrenAronofsky. The story follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] 20 years past his prime, working match to match and part-time at a supermarket to pay his bills. After a violent hardcore match, Randy has a heart attack and is forced to retire and tries to find something meaningful in his life beyond wrestling; his friendship with a stripper named Cassidy (Creator/MarisaTomei) and a new reason to attempt reconciliation with his daughter Stephanie (Creator/EvanRachelWood). When his old wrestling nemesis "The Ayatollah" (played by former Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestler Ernest "The Cat" Miller) proposes a rematch on the anniversary of their biggest match, Randy has to decide if his life in the ring is worth the risk of death.

''The Wrestler'' is a 2008 film written by Robert D. Siegel and directed by Creator/DarrenAronofsky. The story follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] 20 years past his prime, working match to match and part-time at a supermarket to pay his bills. After a violent hardcore match, Randy has a heart attack and is forced to retire and tries to find something meaningful in his life beyond wrestling; his friendship with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) and a new reason to attempt reconciliation with his daughter Stephanie (Creator/EvanRachelWood). When his old wrestling nemesis "The Ayatollah" (played by former Wrestling/{{WCW}} wrestler Ernest "The Cat" Miller) proposes a rematch on the anniversary of their biggest match, Randy has to decide if his life in the ring is worth the risk of death.

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Randy passes up the chance to cleanly pin the Ayatollah in favour of going for [[FinishingMove the Ram Jam]], despite knowing full well it'll probably be his death. He climbs the corner post, listens to the crowd cheering for him for several seconds, raises his arms and leaps off. End of movie.]]

** Could also be seen as a pure [[DownerEnding downer ending]], since some interpret it as [[spoiler: Randy [[CasualtyInTheRing dying in the last scene]], throwing his life away needlessly due to his inability to live outside the ring.]]

* ButtMonkey: Subverted to a degree, and not played for laughs. Randy is certainly this in almost every aspect of his life (which is a big reason we feel so deeply for the man and empathize with him in his hardship) ''except when he's wrestling'', at which point he becomes a god among men for ten minutes.

* {{Expy}}: While Randy has elements of various wrestlers about him (Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "The Snake" Roberts]], etc.), the Ayatollah is a straight up expy of Wrestling/TheIronSheik (though is ''nowhere'' near as insane as the [[RealLife real life]] Sheik).

* MetaCasting: Rourke, who himself experienced a serious career decline and later resurged to the spotlight.

* TruthInTelevision: The film is an ''amazingly'' accurate portrayal of life as a wrestler in the smaller promotions / independent circuit. That said, the only major difference in the big leagues is the miles travelled, size of the crowds and quality of the drugs. Some wrestling fans have raised an objection to the way Randy works a hardcore deathmatch, as former stars will rarely do such a thing. Randy, however, is clearly uncomfortable and out of his element in the match, showing his participation as a sign of extreme desperation.