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Guilty Pleasures – Ready to rumble

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Back before MMA and crooked boxing became popular for sweaty men (and later, ladies), punching each other, there was a sport, an entertaining one wherein good and evil clashed on a weekly basis, drama was written on the spot and holee sheeeee- Look at all the blood coming out of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s head!

And that sports entertainment, was perfectly captured on film, in Ready to Rumble.

Two dimwit sewage workers watch their hero, WCW wrestler Jimmy King, get screwed out of the World title by wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and evil WCW owner Titus Sinclair. They embark on a quest to help their hero win his title – and honor – back. Features cameos by lots of WCW wrestlers.

WCW? What the hell is that you ask? Well back in 2000 when this movie came out, the Monday Night Wars were in full swing, with Vince McMahon’s WWF (WWE later, thanks to a stupid panda) competing with WCW. Things eventually went downhill for that company, with WWF/E buying them out and their entire library and roster of wrestlers.

Moving on,if you’ve ever wondered what kind of person routinely enjoys watching the high-flying spectacle of professional wrestling, then you’ve come to the right place.

David Arquette steels the show here from his straight man setup pal Steve Caan, as the dedicated fanboy Gordie Briggs, a zealous follower of the squared circle antics who lives and breathes the world of sports entertainment. Hell, WCW even organised for Arquette to become the world champion on their weekly TV show, for a brief run, to promote this film, and give it extra points.

And yes, the movie is crawling with all kinds of low brow humour and bodily fluids jokes, and yet…It works. You’ve got a seasoned actor such as Joe Pantoliano around, as a wrestling promoter who somehow finds the idea of keeping an alcoholic, raging, STD infested washout, in the form of Oliver Platt, as champion to be a bad idea, while the sheer lunacy of the obsession that the two pals have for their favourite past-time is mental.

Overall, it’s light on content, but well executed, and a love letter of sorts to fans of pro wrestling. If you’re looking for something serious, go watch Mickey Ruurke struggle through life in The Wrestler.

But if you’re looking for a good laugh and some easy entertainment, then sit down and watch the madcap antics of this little comedic gem unfold.

Last Updated: September 5, 2012

2 Comments

  1. This looks awesome! Capital!

    Reply

  2. Christopher Fauver

    March 5, 2014 at 18:11

    This movie really is a guilty pleasure of mine I need to watch it again someday.

    Reply

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