Welcome Back, Mr. Rourke (February 2009)
I am taking some time off from the mayhem that is the pre-climb preparations for my field work somewhere in the North to write about this sweet comeback of Mickey Rourke.
I had a huge crush on this guy back in high school, I remember seeing a review of the movie “Angel Heart” in a local teen mag (forgot the title already), checking out the VHS (or was it Betamax) tape from the local neighborhood video shop, and was immediately intrigued and smitten by Mr. Rourke. The movie was a detective thriller with a Faustian twist and also starred Robert de Niro, with whom Mickey had been often compared in terms of charisma and range. Also saw his other movies like “Diner”, “Barfly”, and “Body Heat”. Of course, to the purveyors of pseudo- porn he would probably also stick to the mind as the male lead in “Wild Orchid” and “9 1/2 Weeks.” Yep, you younger people, he was that hot. Looking at him right now you wouldn’t think.
To me he was like a rough version of Aga Muhlach (?!) because of the shape of his face and lips. He was really good at subtleties in facial expression, and could morph into almost any character. He once even played the role of St. Francis of Assisi (in "Francesco"..never saw that one). In those pre-IMDB days I would occasionally check old copies of film magazines (sent by my cousins based abroad) whether he would have other new movies out but instead read awful stuff like him being reported to the police by his wife for beating her up, getting fully involved in boxing and basically ruining his career. I just thought what a waste of talent.
A few minutes ago I saw his guest stint in The Late Show with Jay Leno where he talked about how he spent the last 10 years of his life prior to making a major comeback with a Golden Globe win for The Wrestler. He talked with so much humility and sobriety about his poverty, the loss of sense of purpose in his life and the pain of losing everything, that I can’t help but really root for the guy for making this big turnaround in his career. The years of abuse at the boxing ring did much damage to that once, gorgeous, gorgeous face, but I am glad there are film makers and movies out there that are not just about pretty people. Jay asked Mickey to introduce a clip of the film but he refused, saying he has not even seen the movie himself, and while the clip played he has his face turned against the screen. Apparently the story was so close to his real life it was painful to see himself recreate it on film.
Just happy to see an old favorite up on his feet again…hope it’ll be for keeps, for reel and real.
