# Ready to Rumble (2000)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    READY TO RUMBLE
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  *** 1/2

Is it possible to parody a sport like wrestling, which is itself nothing but a parody?

In READY TO RUMBLE, director Brian Robbins, working from a hilarious script by Steven Brill, answers that question in the affirmative with the most outlandishly funny film since THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. Aiming every shot for the bleachers, the cast and crew hit one homerun after another. With one over-the-top sequence after another, they make a film that you'll undoubtedly find either greatly awful or awfully great. The vast majority of our packed audience hooted and hollered and was clearly in the latter category, but there were a few walkouts, proving the film will not have quite universal appeal.

Gordie Boggs, played in a scene-stealing performance by David Arquette, and Sean Dawkins (Scott Caan) are two Port-a-Potty cleaners with an obsession for the sport of wrestling. They worship their hero, Jimmy King, with a religious fervor. King, the heavy-weight champion of the world, is going to be in town tonight to defend his crown against Diamond Dallas Page, who plays himself in the movie as do many other "real" wrestlers. (The recent, fascinating documentary, BEYOND THE MAT, chronicled the lives of some of these wrestlers.)

Oliver Platt (BULWORTH), in an inspired bit of unobvious casting, plays the king of the wrestling world, Jimmy King.

When we first meet King, dressed in cheap medieval robes, he enters the ring to a burst of fireworks as surprising music blasts out. More on that later. His bombastic speech pumps up his adoring fans in the crowd. "Do you want to see me make Diamond Dallas Page into one of my maids in waiting?" he bellows to a roaring audience.

What King doesn't know is that the slimy producer, Titus Sinclair (Joe Pantoliano), has secretly told Page not to follow the script. Page is to cheat by actually hurting King, who is an alcoholic and not the world's bravest athlete. Titus thinks King has gotten too big for his britches so he wants him taken down permanently, which Page does without too much trouble.

The movie's second act has our doofus duo out on a quest to find their hero and help him get the rematch that they think he deserves. Along the way they find that everything about King and the sport isn't what they thought. "It's a circus show with dancing clowns," King tries to explain to them, but they won't listen. They are going to get their man in shape for the big challenge against Page, no matter what it takes.

One of their secret weapons is Sal Bandini (Martin Landau), a wrestler of the old school when the sport involved real strength and skill. A man who is down, but never out, Sal barks out slogans like, "Lesson number 1: the possum ain't dead till it's scraped off the road." Sal is the real McCoy that the King needs.

Sasha (Rose McGowan), the big-breasted member of the cheerleaders known as the Nitros, seems to be just what the over-sexed-but-under-loved Gordie needs. When he offers to show her a few moves on their big date, the sequence leads to an unusual "sex" scene.

The last act is, of course, the big match. It is as side-splittingly funny as the rest of the picture, which produces an uncountable number of uncontrollable laughs.

The movie's secret ingredient is its unusual choice of music. What sort of music comes to mind when you think of a bunch of sweaty guys trying to pulverize each other as a form of entertainment? Bet Richard Wagner didn't come to mind. Well, it did to the makers of READY TO RUMBLE, and proves a perfect match to this over-the-top production.

So what music does King use as his theme song and as his equivalent of the President's "Hail to the Chief?" Whenever King makes his entrance, the symphony's trumpets blare out with Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." Perfect.

READY TO RUMBLE runs 1:40. It is rated PG-13 for language, crude humor, sexuality, brief male rear nudity and wrestling violence. But, it's a hard PG-13. The movie would be fine for teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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