Mickey Rourke might have to face an ugly reality regarding his film comeback.
Rourke, an ’80s screen darling, all but disappeared from mainstream movies until the one-two combination of “Sin City” and, now, “The Wrestler.”
But while the talent still burns brightly within him, something else might stop his comeback cold in its track.
It’s his face.
Movie critics can be an unnecessarily cruel bunch. Too often I read reviews mocking an actor’s appearance, weight gain or other factors that have no business being in a film critique.
Misplaced hostility doesn’t help the reader pick the best film to see.
But it’s hard to get around the fact that Rourke’s face has undergone a metamorphosis, and one not due solely to the advance of years. It’s hard to say whether his brutal boxing career or plastic surgery is to blame (he denies the latter), but it’s tough to imagine the kinds of roles he can play in the coming years.
One of the many reasons “The Wrestler” is such a powerful film is that it met his new physicality half way. His characters is a battered athlete, a man who’s been punishing his physique for 20 years. And it shows.
But how many other roles will match up with Rourke’s idiosyncratic visage?
UPDATE: Rourke appears to be in talks to play the villain in “Iron Man 2.” The part calls for an actor to sport tattoos and don a metal suit. I rest my case.
(Photo: Mickey Rourke plays a has-been wrestler trying to make a comeback in and out of the ring in “The Wrestler,” Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise)
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Don’t call it a comeback
Mickey Rourke might have to face an ugly reality regarding his film comeback.
Rourke, an ’80s screen darling, all but disappeared from mainstream movies until the one-two combination of “Sin City” and, now, “The Wrestler.”
But while the talent still burns brightly within him, something else might stop his comeback cold in its track.
It’s his face.
Movie critics can be an unnecessarily cruel bunch. Too often I read reviews mocking an actor’s appearance, weight gain or other factors that have no business being in a film critique.
Misplaced hostility doesn’t help the reader pick the best film to see.
But it’s hard to get around the fact that Rourke’s face has undergone a metamorphosis, and one not due solely to the advance of years. It’s hard to say whether his brutal boxing career or plastic surgery is to blame (he denies the latter), but it’s tough to imagine the kinds of roles he can play in the coming years.
One of the many reasons “The Wrestler” is such a powerful film is that it met his new physicality half way. His characters is a battered athlete, a man who’s been punishing his physique for 20 years. And it shows.
But how many other roles will match up with Rourke’s idiosyncratic visage?
UPDATE: Rourke appears to be in talks to play the villain in “Iron Man 2.” The part calls for an actor to sport tattoos and don a metal suit. I rest my case.
(Photo: Mickey Rourke plays a has-been wrestler trying to make a comeback in and out of the ring in “The Wrestler,” Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise)
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