Real Wrestling Fans Should Take Offence To This Film
(I just posted this as a comment, but I doubted anyone would read it. So here you go)
I've been a fan of wrestling for nearly all my life. It was because of wrestling I got interested in acting, which is what I'm doing to this day. It was because of heels like The Million Dollar Man and Shawn Michaels that I love a great villian (Castor Troy, Tyler Durden, Frank in Once Upon A Time In The West). I hold a great respect for the business and I see it as not only a form of theater, but an art form in and of itself. To watch two wrestlers who really know what they're doing in the ring put a match together is a thing of beauty. People in the past like Ric Flair & Ricky Steamboat. People now like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guererro & Kurt Angle. Professional Wrestling is the most underrated art form in the world, especially in the USA. At least it's somewhat seen higher than a sweaty circus in Mexico and Japan.
Part of the reason is the poor image. Wrestlers are seen as bad actors who pretend to fight and hit each other with folding chairs. In turn, anyone who's a fan is just an idiot yokel who got the night off of working the Dairy Queen to come see the rasslin men fight real durn good. And it doesn't help that we got movies like "No Holds Barred" and "Bodyslam" that just perpetuate that image back in the 80's and back in the days of Kayfabe. But now that we've accepted the notion of "sports entertainment", we've moved on. We've accepted that it's a form of theater and it's all for our entertainment. It's not real. We get that. And that's the fun of it.
That's why this film is a slap in the face. Not just the crappy acting and even crappier story. But the fact that this movie says not only do wrestling fans all believe that what happens in the ring is real, but that the movie actually SAYS that it's all real! What does that say about the fans? These two idiots in this film drive an actual, honest to God, truck full of sh_t. It's like the writers, producers, and directors all got together, flew to your house, crapped in your mouth, then went to the next name on their list.
Ok, I've gotten this off my chest. But I'll be angry at this film forever more until someone puts out a wrestling movie that doesn't just exist to get a cheap buck of the fans. If you want something close to that, try "Beyond the Mat" or "Wrestling With Shadows". They're documentaries, yes. But they show a glimmer of truth to the business that nothing else has yet to do.
PS - I would like to say that though I hate this movie with every fiber of my being, I don't hate David Arquette. Sure, I wish it hadn't been done, but the kid really does respect the business. Why he thought this movie would be good for it is anyone's guess. But when working with WCW, he took every check he earned for his stint and gave every dime to the families of Owen Hart and Darren Drozdov. And for showing that much respect, I show him the same.
------------------- ---
"Feel pain; eat pudding"
- Conan O'Brien