I was just thinking the opposite. It seems like the most natural question in the world would be, “How’s your mom doing?”
I know this is a minor point of little concern but for some reason it bugged me.
Not if she’s dead. 
I see what you’re getting at, but think of it from Randy’s point of view. If she’s dead, there’s no reason to bring it up. If she’s alive, but they went through a bitter divorce/breakup, obviously the daughter went to live with Mom. You haven’t seen your daughter for years. You’re trying to re-establish a connection with her. Are you going to remind her of what an a-hole you were to her Mom? The answer to the question “how’s your mom doing?” can only reflect negatively on you. Either she’s doing horribly and it’s all your fault, or she’s doing great now that she got rid of a loser like you.
Me, I’d stay as far away from that subject as possible.
That’s fair.
The friend I went with and I discussed this afterwards – the ending can be interpreted as going either way.
I bought that for the Sopranos but I thought in this movie it was clearly meant to mean death by heart failure and besides the Ram had no reason to go on. He had fucked up just one too many times even for himself.
(Has someone asked a mod to change the thread title to indicate that there are spoilers happening in this thread?)
I think it was his intention to die – but given his track record as a fuckup, maybe he wasn’t that lucky.
Oh crap, sorry about the spoilers. Speaking of fuckups. :smack:
Bump- just saw it.
I had no expectations for this movie and it exceeded them.
Actually, I really liked it. It wasn’t as depressing as I’d feared, it’s a wonderful character study. I don’t know this, but I’m guessing there are going to be some significant material in the deleted and extended scenes (mention of his ex-wife for instance, or more about his glory days). I actually liked the open ending- we know he didn’t skip gaily out of the ring, but you’re left to your own devices as to whether he died there or had a massive heart attack, if Pam/Cassidy was still in the building and if they’d ever be together, etc… It was also well done that you felt sorry for him for missing his dinner with his daughter, even though it was his own irresponsibility that caused it.
Anyway, Rourke totally deserved the nomination. And my favorite scene may have been him behind the meat counter (though I didn’t understand why he was so embarassed to be recognized- it’s not like the day job is anything to be ashamed of and he certainly wasn’t ashamed of his wrestling).
Tomei looks fantastic for a 45 year old broad, incidentally. And perhaps my favorite exchange is when he gives her the action figure for her son:
“Tell him to be careful. It’s worth $300 to collectors.”
“Really?”
“No.”
:eek:
Can’t wait to see it.
I like the throwaway shot a bit later where you see the son playing with it.
I also loved the Nintendo, something like Norma Desmond with her silent filmfests.
Even though he hated the fact that his nametag said “Robin” he really got into the job. One of the many humorous moments was when the old biddy wasn’t satisfied with the amount of potato salad so he kept taking some out and adding some in and then he finally eats some of it.
It seemed a bit much for you or me, but I could see it. He was into the job as long as no one recognized him. As soon as someone did, then things changed. Randy “The Ram” Robinson was clashing with Robin Razinsky (?) and it was bothering him. Since he’d worked in back he’d never encountered the clash before. Even the 3rd time I saw the movie, I was still cringing and hiding my head as he was working that meat slicing machine. Ouch!
And yeah, the Nintendo was great. The kid was used to the state of the art games but was nice enough to play that sad old game with Randy.
He used to be a successful and famous entertainer and now he is working behind a deli counter. That’s pretty embarrassing.
With a nametag that says Robin.
You’re forgetting that on the day when he was enjoying himself at work, he’d just gotten things off the ground again with his daughter. He’s having a moment of optimism, doors closing doors opening, maybe this won’t be so bad.
Fastforward to having fucked things up one more time, and his last chance with his daughter, the last thing he can take is this fat smuck saying ‘hey didn’t you used to be somebody?’
Just saw this on cable last night… much better than I expected… highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet seen it…
My least favorite Aronofsky movie, but a great movie nonetheless.
I particularly liked the moment where they were trashing Kurt Cobain.
I liked it quite a bit and have recommended it.
Never wanted to see it when it first came out, but also caught it on cable and liked it far more than I thought I would.
I rented it, but I found it pretty dull and ended up fast forwarding it to the parts with Marisa Tomei naked.