the wrestler

taking advantage of a rare opportunity, i went to see a movie yesterday afternoon.

with the economic junk going on these days, there's no overtime at all. so since i usually get to work at 7:30 or 8:00am, it's often time for me to leave around 3:30 or 4:00pm (i still just always eat lunch at my desk). brooke was picking up jake, L had patients and wouldn't be home til after 6:00pm, and we were having dinner a bit later anyways. so on the way home, i caught the 4:10pm showing of the wrestler.

i had been looking forward to it after buzz about the lead actor, mickey rourke (he won the golden globe for this performance) and [this article] on the movie (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3773747) from bill simmons. plus i spent well over a decade of my life avidly following professional wrestling each and every week.

the wrestler is a small run film that released in ny and la before the end of the year (in order to be considered for 2008 awards) and made its way to lexington on jan. 23rd. it details the fictional account (inspired by countless similar stories) of a professional wrestler, 20 years past his prime and still trying to make a (very meager) living. his body is scarred with injuries of years past and creaking as if it were many years older.

a big match is coming up soon for him - a rematch of his biggest feud from his glory days - so he starts to intensify his training and doing more shows to publicize the big match. one thing leads to another and he gets hurt seriously and really begins to re-evaluate his life. he retires from pro wrestling and begins to succeed at mending some broken relationships in his life. inevitably though, he screws those up again and heads back down a downward spiral.

i love movies, but i don't normally reflect and write on them (though i could / should and it would be fun). as a pastor, many of the things i view (or the world as a whole, really) is filtered through the lens of looking at the human condition. looking for sin and salvation, hopelessness and hope, despair and delight. the protagonist of this movie lives a life of self-destruction. when he tries to fix things, he fails and flees to the only place where he has found happiness and glory: the wrestling ring. however, after that one big final match he ... involuntarily retires.

(pastoral conclusion: Christ is the only cure for the self-destruction of sin in our lives. we, in our own strength are incapable of curing ourselves. )

(takeaway thought for reflection: where do you find 'happiness' and 'glory' in life ?)

p.s. i wouldn't recommend the film for all my readers - it's definitely r-rated.