Rourke Clinches Wrestler

Actor makes a bodyslam of a comeback with portrait of a has-been

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 18, 2008 10:55 AM CST

(Newser) – Mickey Rourke takes the title role of The Wrestler and pins it to the mat in a stunning comeback, say critics. The tragicomic portrait of a washed-up star still hitting the circuit decades past his prime "is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man," longtime Rourke fan Anthony Lane writes in the New Yorker.

A lesser actor might have milked the role for easy pathos, David Ansen writes for Newsweek, but Rourke adds a "tough, tender humor" that tosses clichés out of the ring. "The most brutally honest performance of the year" should make Rourke a real awards contender (he scored a SAG nomination today) and breathe new life into his career, writes Rex Reed of the New York Observer.

[Images (3)]

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In this image released by Fox Searchlight, Mickey Rourke is shown in a scene from "The Wrestler." (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight, Niko Tavernise)

Mickey Rourke, star of "The Wrestler," poses for photographers at the premiere of the film at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. (AP Photo)

In this image released by Fox Searchlight, Mickey Rourke is shown in a scene from, "The Wrestler." (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight, Niko Tavernise)

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Trailer for "The Wrestler." (thrnetwork)

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Rourke Clinches Wrestler