The XX Factor: What women really think.

A Very Courageous Pole Performance

I find the notion that The Wrestler is a feminist flick intriguing, but ultimately it's problematic. Although Rourke's character is trapped in an endless cycle of bodily abuse and exploitation, the biological women in the film are not particularly shining examples of feminist thinking. Marisa Tomei plays that same old trope, the hooker (or in this case, stripper) with a heart of gold. Since Tomei is such a fine actress, she keeps the role from devolving into that clichéd territory. As our own Dana Stevens put it, "I hope Marisa Tomei won't be overlooked for what I consider the single best female performance of the year, supporting or otherwise. She's smart, earthy, and astonishingly real in a role that could have foundered in cheap sentimentality." But still, Tomei's character is pretty one-dimensional. She lacks flaws either to her earthy personality or her slammin' bod. And what about the other woman in the movie, Rourke's daughter Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood? The wrestler tugs on her vulnerable heart strings, only to let her down as he has throughout her childhood. In a way, every character in The Wrestler is trapped in a larger system beyond his or her control. Mickey Rourke doesn't deserve a special citation for feminist filmmaking for being trapped in this way, but agreed, Hanna: He does deserve that Oscar.

Rourke already won best actor honors at last night's Independent Spirit Awards, and his acceptance speech was definitely 10 times more entertaining than whatever bleeped out pleasantries he'll probably have to offer tonight. Check out the rambling six-minute monologue below. This is what he had to say about Marisa Tomei's work: "I wanna thank, uh, who else? Oh! Melissa? Marisa Tomei. Goddamn she had to do all this with a bare ass, and she brought it. Is she here? Not many girls can climb the pole. You understand what I'm saying? She climbed the pole, and she did it well, and it was a very courageous performance."