Ready to Rumble (2000) Rating: 4.0 stars out of 5.0 stars
Cast: David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver Platt, Rose McGowan, Martin Landau, Joe Pantoliano, Caroline Rhea, Ahmet Zappa Featured Wrestlers: Bill Goldberg, "Diamond" Dallas Page, Sting, Disco Inferno, Sid Vicious, Bam Bam Bigelow, Perry Saturn, Curt Hennig Written by: Steven Brill Directed by: Brian Robbins Running Time: 107 minutes
Harmless, silly and fun comedy about dim-witted wrestling fans Gordie and Sean (David Arquette and Scott Caan) who idolize current World Championship Wrestling heavyweight champion Jimmy King (Oliver Platt). When King is screwed out of his title by a corrupt promoter (Joe Pantoliano), Gordie and Sean take it upon themselves to find their fallen hero and restore his glory.
My biggest fear about Ready to Rumble was dispatched early on, as the filmmakers are quick to show that wresting is indeed choreographed (but not fake, mind you). The hook of the movie is that Gordie and Sean are just TOO stupid to realize that.
Arquette and Caan are suitably over the top with their performances, which is exactly what a movie like this requires, and Oliver Platt (one of my favorite actors) is a riot as the drunken washed-up ex-champion. Many have scoffed at the idea that Platt should be playing a heavyweight champion wrestler with an unbeaten record, but for me it just added to the "silly factor" of the film, thereby increasing my enjoyment of it. One casting complaint however: Rose McGowan as a sexy dancer? Please... if Rose McGowan is sexy then I'm Marilyn Manson.
Given the current state of the actual WCW, if Oliver Platt were appearing as Jimmy King right now on WCW programming, he'd be the most popular guy they have. On a similar note, the "plot line" of the wresting portions of the film are more entertaining than anything the WCW writers have been able to come up with in the last two years. Although one does have to ask... why would any wrestling promoter fire the head wrestler of a company who is both unbeaten and extremely popular with the fans?
Director Brian Robbins (you'll remember him as Eric from TV's "Head of the Class") just knows how to make good dumb movies. This movie fits in nicely with his previous efforts Good Burger and Varsity Blues. And screenwriter Steven Brill (the epic Mighty Ducks trilogy, Late Last Night) manages to keep things both sophomoric and clever at the same time, with almost all the jokes of the film getting a laugh out of me. The only exceptions to that were: 1) a scene involving a van full of singing nuns and 2) any scene involving the old woman wrestling fan. Those moments made me cringe and/or groan. As an added bonus though, the audience is treated to outtakes from the film as the final credits roll. [PG-13]
Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/
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