The WrestlerMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 81 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

not for kids

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

100

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
The Wrestler is like "Rocky" made by the Scorsese of "Mean Streets." It's the rare movie fairy tale that's also a bravura work of art. Read full review
100

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
The movie has the simplicity and confidence of a Johnny Cash song. Read full review
100

Variety | Todd McCarthy
Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky's fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle. Read full review
100

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
This is Rourke doing astonishing physical acting. Read full review
90

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
Like its hero, the movie has a blunt, exuberant honesty, pulling off even its false moves with conviction and flair. Read full review
88

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
You watch The Wrestler (with a superb title song from Bruce Springsteen) in a state of pure exhilaration. A great actor in a great movie will do that to you. Read full review
80

The Hollywood Reporter |
Bolstered by a career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Read full review
75

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The story has its clichd and sentimental moments. It's no "Raging Bull," more like "Rocky" shot with a handheld camera. But Rourke's wounded tough guy is undeniably captivating. Read full review
70

Washington Post |
As good as Rourke is, and as willingly as he throws himself on the figurative hand grenade, his performance constantly begs the question of whether the story would be worth telling without him. Marisa Tomei, as Cassidy the pole dancer, delivers a courageous performance, one nearly as ego-battering as Rourke's. Read full review
50

Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan
The Wrestler doesn't add up. It's constructed with great care around a lead performance that is everything it could possibly be, but the picture itself is off-putting and disappointing. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for The Wrestler on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says not for kids Brilliant drama about rough redemption is for adults only.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this critically acclaimed indie drama is a strong, brilliant, fierce film -- for adults only. The acting, direction, and writing are of Oscar caliber, but there's extensive nudity, unflinching violence, drinking, drug use/abuse, and swearing. The film is also moody and complex, depicting the physical and moral consequences of the characters' work as "professionals" in the economy of entertainment.

Families can talk aboutthe nature of the "fake" violence depicted in the wrestling matches -- is it really "fake" if people are bleeding?
What's the appeal of professional wrestling to begin with? What makes it compelling entertainment?
Is it as popular now as it was in the '80s? Why or why not?
Discuss the similarities between Randy and Cassidy, who both make low pay selling their bodies (he wrestles, she strips). What effect does that have on their self-esteem? Their relationships with others?

The good stuff

Positive messages: The movie thematically looks at the appeal of wrestling and violent entertainment, as well as adult "entertainment" like stripping.
Positive role models: Most parents would not want their kids to be like anyone in the movie. A wrestling character, "The Ayatollah," is a racist caricature. A nude female dancer is mocked due to her age. The main character cluelessly theorizes that his daughter is a lesbian. On the plus side, the lead character makes an effort to reach out to his estranged daughter.

What to watch for

Violence: Repeated, extensive and graphic "fake" wrestling action violence, which nonetheless involves real pain and blood. Characters use concealed razors to create bloody wounds for show in the ring; a lead character is battered, pummelled, slapped, struck with furniture, beaten with a window, and even assaulted with a staple gun (with staples punched into his flesh) in the ring. The lead character also inflicts abuse on others in the ring, striking an opponent with a table, a crutch wrapped with barbed wire, and more. The consequences of this violence are depicted in extensive detail, in terms of both long-term physical trauma and immediate suffering. Some fighting and scuffling outside of the ring. A character suffers a heart attack and must have a bypass; surgical scars are seen. A character rams his thumb into a meat slicer.
Sex: Extensive female full-frontal nudity, with many scenes set at a strip club; the club is presented in a fiercely realistic way, without much glamor or gloss. There's a sex scene between two consenting adults who are under the influence of drugs. Male buttocks are seen as a character injects steroids.
Language: Extensive strong language, including "godammit," "f--k," "s--t," "p---y," "ass," "t--s," and much more.
Consumerism: Some brands are visible or mentioned on screen, including Nintendo, Call of Duty 4, Polaroid, bands like RATT and Poison, and more. Some real-world brands are briefly glimpsed in a grocery store.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters smoke, drink beer and hard liquor, and abuse drugs like cocaine and steroids, as well as painkillers. References to marijuana and amphetamines; prescription drug abuse. There are clear negative health effects from the main character's misuse of alcohol, steroids, and other drugs.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.