Directed by Brian Robbins

This DVD proudly has a sticker indicating that it is less than $12 to buy and I personally think that it is $12 well spent. I knew the DVD was about wrestling and I was a huge fan of the now defunct WCW, particularly Bill Goldberg (what a body!). In fact this movie is basically a long advertisement for the WCW with all of their stars appearing in the film. They include Diamond Dallas Page, Sting, Sid Vicious, Booker T, Bam Bam Bigelow, Randy Macho Man Savage and Billy Kidman. If any of these names mean anything to you at all then you will love his film as much as I did.

The film revolves around Gordie (David Arquette) and Sean (Scott Caan) who clean sewers for a living but in their spare time worship the WCW, in particular Jimmy King (Oliver Platt). While at ?Monday Nitro? Gordie and Sean witness their idol Jimmy King getting double crossed by his manager/promoter Titus Sinclair (Joe Pantoliano). He loses his Heavyweight Title to Diamond Dallas Page and is banned from wrestling for life. On the home the boys total their work truck and are now jobless so they decide to find their idol and convince him to enter the ring for one more bout.

Their quest takes them all the way from Wyoming to NYC in search of him. Along the way they learn that Jimmy is not who they thought he was (My god, wrestlers actually lie on their biographies) and when they do track him down they find him in a mobile home drunk and penniless. Sinclair agrees to give him a ?Caged Match? against DDP (That?s Diamond Dallas Page for non wrestling lovers) after King ambushes him backstage. If King does wins the he gets a cool million dollars but if he loses that is the end of his career for good.

Gordie and Sean take charge of King?s career and even organize a coach, Sal Bandini (Martin Landau), to get him back in shape. Along the way though they have to contend with Sinclair and Gordie?s newly acquired girlfriend Sasha (Rose McGowan playing a ?Niro Girl?), trying to sabotage their every move. In desperation King is whisked back to Gordie and Sean?s hometown to get him ?Ready to Rumble?.

Unfortunately Gordie decides that he should become a policeman, to fulfill his father?s dream, and deserts his friends in their time of need. Not to worry though as Gordie, Goldberg and Sting will be there in the end to save the day in a fairly predictable finale. Everybody loves a happy ending don?t they? I do, I do, I do.

I have to say that I chuckled throughout this film, with the many corny one liners and unique characters. There is a lot of grotty toilet humour (they do clean sewers after all) and plenty of amusing moments to keep viewers entertained even if they aren?t wrestling fans. My husband had a laugh too and he hates wrestling and had very low expectations of the film initially.

Overall, the movie has a very simple plot, it?s another good versus evil romp, but it is still enjoyable nonetheless. I do wish though that David Arquette would take a role that encouraged him to act his age as he can be a tad annoying. He would have to be one of the worst actors going around. What Courteney Cox sees in him is beyond me. I always seem to enjoy Oliver Platt in all his film roles and this is no exception. I also loved his dysfunctional family, they were fun and wait until you see the Posse they assemble for ?The King? in his comeback bout.

The film gives you a little behind the scenes look at the WCW and does seem to indicate that wrestling is indeed fixed as poor Jimmy King thought he was going to retain his title initially. That was until all his wrestler friends turned on him, including Goldberg. Bill Goldberg is a traitor. How will I sleep at night? Thankfully he quickly restored by faith. Is there anybody out there that actually thought wrestling was a real sport? It is entertainment and I believe it fulfills it?s role nicely.

As I stated earlier, this movie is a 100 minute advert for the WCW but unfortunately the WCW is no more and we are left with the WWE (formally the WWF until the World Wildlife Fund had their way). ?Ready To Rumble? is a quirky little film that will appeal to all ages. It will definitely get another showing on my DVD player. It is a shame it didn?t do better at the Australian Box Office but I suppose professional wrestling isn?t as big here as it is in the USA.

An added bonus are the outtakes for the movie which appear at the closing credits. This movie is rated M and runs for 100 minutes. There are very few extras available except for a short section called ?Up close with the Nitro Girls? (the WCW dancers).

THE EXTRAS

Scene Selection is available (35 different scenes). The only other special features are short featurettes entitled ?Up close with the Nitro Girls?. We get to hear from ?Chae?, ?Fyre?, ?Spice?, ?Storm? and ?Tygress? on how they were selected to be Nitro Girls and how long they have been dancing. Each runs for less than one minute. Bimbo Alert!!!! Who comes up with their names?

CONCLUSION

Ready to Rumble is basically a 100 minute advertisement for the now defunct WCW (That?s the World Championship Wrestling for those not in the know). That said, the film is a lot of fun. The basic plot revolves around Gordie (David Arquette) and Sean (Scott Caan) who are two WCW groupies. When their idol Jimmy King (Oliver Platt) loses his Heavyweight Title and is banned from ever wrestling again, the boys set out on a quest to find ?The King? and convince him to have another bash at the Title. Along the way they have to contend with his ex-promoter Titus Sinclair (Joe Pantoliano) and some real WCW wrestlers, like Diamond Dallas Page and Sid Vicious, who will stop at nothing to prevent him from reclaiming his Heavyweight Title. There are plenty of laughs to be had in this movie and some unique characters to amuse you as well.